Science at the Bar: Law, Science, and Technology in America

by Sheila Jasanoff

Issues spawned by the headlong pace of developments in science and technology fill the courts. How should we deal with frozen embryos and leaky implants, dangerous chemicals, DNA fingerprints, and genetically engineered animals? The realm of the law, to which beleaguered people look for answers, is sometimes at a loss--constrained by its own assumptions and practices, Sheila Jasanoff suggests. This book exposes American law's long-standing involvement in constructing, propagating, and perpetuating a variety of myths about science and technology. Science at the Bar is the first book to examine in detail how two powerful American institutions--both seekers after truth--interact with each other. Looking at cases involving product liability, medical malpractice, toxic torts, genetic engineering, and life and death, Jasanoff argues that the courts do not simply depend on scientific findings for guidance--they actually influence the production of science and technology at many different levels. Research is conducted and interpreted to answer legal questions. Experts are selected to be credible on the witness stand. Products are redesigned to reduce the risk of lawsuits. At the same time the courts emerge here as democratizing agents in disputes over the control and deployment of new technologies, advancing and sustaining a public dialogue about the limits of expertise. Jasanoff shows how positivistic views of science and the law often prevent courts from realizing their full potential as centers for a progressive critique of science and technology. With its lucid analysis of both scientific and legal modes of reasoning, and its recommendations for scholars and policymakers, this book will be an indispensable resource for anyone who hopes to understand the changing configurations of science, technology, and the law in our litigious society.

Genres: Law, Nonfiction

285 pages, Hardcover

First published November 26, 1995

About the author

Sheila Jasanoff is an Indian American academic and significant contributor to the field of Science and Technology Studies. She is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. A pioneer in her field, she has authored more than 130 articles and chapters and is author or editor of more than 15 books, including The Fifth Branch, Science at the Bar, Designs on Nature, The Ethics of Invention, and Can Science Make Sense of Life? Her work explores the role of science and technology in the law, politics, and policy of modern democracies. She founded and directs the STS Program at Harvard; previously, she was founding chair of the STS Department at Cornell. She holds AB, JD, and PhD degrees from Harvard, and honorary doctorates from the Universities of Twente and Liège.

Reviews

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, comprehensive, well-argued and readable, this book is a deserved classic in the field of Science & Technology Studies. Jasanoff examines the co-construction of law and science over the past generation, focusing on toxic torts and bio-medical technologies, arguing that the "conflict" between law and science is a constructive interplay of two very American epistemological systems, one largely well-suited to building civic consensus in highly contested areas.

How on earth this book could've gotten two two-star ratings is beyond me.

[Jason Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well-written and while it's certainly dated (a technology book doesn't age well, especially after more than a decade), its lessons still apply today quite well.

I read this one for work and was constantly impressed with Jasanoff's writing. However, as it was one I read for information and not for pleasure, saying that I "liked it" (3 stars) is sufficient.

A solid start for people interested in the topic of how courts deal with (and don't deal with) technology.