NCJ Number
113743
Date Published
1987
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines how social science research has been and could be used in the appellate process, with emphasis on the role of written briefs.
Abstract
The appellate brief is the principle means for advocates to supply information to judges. In attorneys' briefs, the informing function is subordinate to the persuading function. In major cases, briefs also may be filed amici curiae (friends of the court). While such briefs were intended to provide a neutral source of information, over time they have come to be used as an advocacy tool. Brandeis, or research-laden, briefs are an efficient and effective means of introducing social science information at trial. To present child development or other research information through appellate briefs, an appropriate case must be found, appropriately framed, and technical requirements must be met. Between 1976 and 1985, 71 professional, advocacy, and religious organizations filed 44 amicus curiae briefs in 6 U.S. Supreme Court cases dealing with the abortion rights of minors. These cases provided an ideal vehicle for the transmission of social science data on such developmental issues as cognitive capacities and mental competencies of minors as they relate to the concept of maturity. About half the briefs contained pure social science sources, and only three could be considered Brandeis briefs. Few of the briefs or the opinions arising from these cases contained empirical citations to the social science literatures. Three factors contributed to this limited use of the literature: judicial discomfort with the social sciences, court procedures unsuited to presentation of such data, and a lack of adequate law-targeted research. 86 references.