Free: science reference book for judges | asknod

It?s been many years since I sat through 9th grade biology class learning about frogs and ponds. ?I admit to being scientifically illiterate. ?But my lack of science acumen is not disturbing to anyone but myself since the public is not likely to be hurt by my lack of knowledge

Veteran?s families do need to be very concerned and angry about the science illiteracy of judges, lawyers and the ?experts??they hire.

The Reference Manual for Scientific Evidence: Third Edition?has been published to help judges. ?It?s freely available to read (or skim) online or download as a pdf. ?The introduction by Associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen Beyer makes the case for science:

?Our decisions should reflect a proper scientific and technical understanding so that the law can respond to the needs of the public.

?The search is not for scientific precision. We cannot hope to investigate all the subtleties that characterize good scientific work. A judge is not a scientist, and a courtroom is not a scientific laboratory. But consider the remark made by the physicist Wolfgang Paul. After a colleague asked whether a certain scientific paper was wrong, Pauli ?replied, ?That paper isn?t even good enough to be wrong!? Our objective is to avoid legal decisions that reflect the paper?s so-called science. The law must seek decisions that fall within the boundaries of scientifically sound knowledge.

We?ve read a lot of junk science that has been used against veterans in the BVA decisions and encoded into VA manuals. ?This ASKNOD?post, BVA?Worthless Medical Decisions (4/21/12),? comes to mind as particularly egregious. ?To paraphrase Pauli, most decisions I?ve read aren?t even good enough to be wrong.?

Authoring organizations: Federal Judical Center?(.gov)?and National Research Council.? It?s over 1000 pages but you can select chapters to download if you don?t need the whole text. ?Nice!

Let?s get smarter about science. ?The life you save may be your own.

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