Science in the Courtroom

Scientific disputes are being conducted today not just in laboratories and academic journals but in courtrooms, too. Judges and juries are being asked to decide unresolved scientific questions in a growing number of high-stakes lawsuits involving drugs, toxic chemicals and industrial processes. Plaintiffs in these cases have argued that high-power electric lines cause cancer, industrial chemicals damage the immune system and a drug once used for morning sickness causes birth defects. Business groups, legal critics and many scientists have sharply disputed the scientific basis for the claims. They complain that judges have been too lax in permitting what they call “junk science” to be used in the courtroom. Plaintiff and consumer groups, however, say that when scientists disagree, the legal disputes must be settled by the courts, not by scientists.