NCJ Number
133470
Journal
Trial Dated: (March 1977) Pages: 48-50
Date Published
1977
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the concept and procedures of an experimental Science Court which would determine the state of scientific fact when it is needed for important controversial public policy decisions.
Abstract
The Science Court was proposed in 1976 by the Task Force of the President's Advisory Group on Anticipated Advances in Science and Technology. The proposed Science Court procedure will not make decisions nor recommendations concerning public actions on the basis of the facts it presents. Its fact-finding is intended to enable nonscientists to make informed decisions that incorporate scientific value systems. In the Science Court procedure, advocates for the scientific facts at issue will present the factual bases for their positions before scientifically trained judges who have no involvement in the field in question as well as in the presence of expert adversaries. An analog of cross-examination will be used to exhibit the weaknesses in claimed scientific factual statements. Any statement or conclusion by the Science Court will be valid only until new evidence on the issue arises. The outcome of a Science Court session will be the determination of what is known and unknown about a particular scientific issue. An outline of the initiation, organization, and suggested procedures for the Science Court experiment is presented.