The Arts of Persuasion in Science and Law: Conflicting Norms in the Courtroom

Herbert M. Kritzer
University of Minnesota Law School

Law and Contemporary Problems, 2007
William Mitchell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 86

Abstract:

Much of the commentary about the Supreme Court’s Daubert Trilogy focuses on the disconnect between contemporary understandings of science and the Court’s apparent acceptance of a Popperian epistemology. This paper takes a somewhat different tact, considering differences in how persuasion is conducted in the courtroom and within the scientific community. These differences are analyzed along four dimensions: data sources, use of evidence, mindset, and goal of inquiry.

The Arts of Persuasion in Science and Law- Conflicting Norms in the Courtroom