Applying Statistics in the Courtroom: A New Approach for Attorneys and Expert Witnesses

Published:
July 11, 2001 by Chapman and Hall/CRC - 296 Pages
Author(s):
Philip Good, Consultant, Huntington Beach, California, USA

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Hardback
$119.95
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ISBN 9781584882718
Cat# C2719
 

Features

  • Offers a comprehensive guide to the application of statistics and probability in jury selection, audits, employment discrimination, trademark disputes, criminal law, and product liability
  • Provides a step-by-step guide for statisticians called as expert witnesses
  • Presents the principles of statistics and probability not as a series of symbols, but in the words of jurists
  • Includes numerous citations that can be used to defend the use of particular techniques
  • Discusses both the strengths and the weaknesses of various statistical procedures
  • Provides judicial opinions that interpret statistical evidence and can be inserted directly into briefs and oral arguments
  • Demonstrates the effective use of statistics during the discovery and trial process

    • Summary

    This publication is directed at both attorneys and statisticians to ensure they will work together successfully on the application of statistics in the law. Attorneys will learn how best to utilize the statistician's talents, while gaining an enriched understanding of the law relevant to audits, jury selection, discrimination, environmental hazards, evidence, and torts as it relates to statistical issues. Statisticians will learn that the law is what judges say it is and to frame their arguments accordingly. This book will increase the effectiveness of both parties in presenting and attacking statistical arguments in the courtroom. Topics covered include sample and survey methods, probability, testing hypotheses, and multiple regression.

    Table of Contents

    Preface
    Interpreting Case Citations
    PART I: SAMPLES AND POPULATIONS
    Samples and Populations
    Audits
    Determining the Appropriate Population
    Representative Samples and Jury Selection
    Concepts
    Issues
    Composition of the Jury Pool
    Random Selection
    To Learn More
    Sample and Survey Methodology
    Concepts
    Sampling Methodology
    Increasing Sample Reliability
    Missing Data and Nonresponders
    Presenting Your Case
    Concepts
    The Center or Average
    Measures of Precision
    Changes in Rates
    PART II: PROBABILITY
    Probability Concepts
    Equally-Likely, Equally Probable, Equally Frequent
    Mutually-Exclusive Events
    Conditional Probabilities
    Independence
    Bayes Theorem
    To Learn More
    Criminal Law
    Facts not Probabilities
    Observation vs Guesstimates
    Probable Cause
    Sentencing
    To Learn More
    Civil Law
    The Civil Paradigm
    Holdings
    Speculative Gains and Losses
    To Learn More
    Environmental Hazards
    Concepts
    Is the Evidence Admissible?
    Is the Evidence Sufficient?
    Risk v. Probability
    Use of Models
    Observations v. Experiments
    Multiple Defendants
    PART III: HYPOTHESIS TESTING AND ESTIMATION
    How Large is Large?
    Discrimination
    80% Rule
    No Sample Too Small
    Methods of Analysis
    Comparing Two Samples
    The Underlying Population
    Distribution Theory
    Contingency Tables
    To Learn More
    Correlation
    Correlation
    Bias
    Testing
    Linear Regression
    Sidebar: Limitations of Regression
    Multivariate Regression
    Lost Earnings
    Multiple Applications
    Collinearity and Partial Correlation
    Defenses
    Rebuttal Decisions
    Alternate Forms of Regression Analysis
    When Statistics Don't Count
    Counter-Attack
    PART IV: APPLYING STATISTICS IN THE COURTROOM
    Preventative Statistics
    Concepts
    Appropriate Controls
    Power of a Test
    Coincidence
    Recognizing Bad Statistics
    The Trial Process-For the Statistician
    Selecting the Case
    Pre-Filing
    Discovery
    Depositions
    Post-Deposition, Pre-Trial
    In the Courtroom
    Appeals
    Making Effective Use of Statistics and Statisticians-For the Attorney
    Selecting the Statistician
    Pre-Filing Preparation
    Discovery
    Presentation of Evidence
    Appeals
    TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
    BIBLIOGRAPHY
    INDEX

    Editorial Reviews

    … This text is largely successful at providing an introductory overview to the attorney and the statistician, which will prepare them for entering the unknown territory of the other group. … For the statistician who is unfamiliar with legal proceedings, the book provides specific and sound advice on methods for presenting statistical concepts in terms that a judge would understand. Similarly, attorneys who are seeking to use supporting statistics in a variety of legal settings will find many of the ideas presented useful. … The strength of this book is that it contains practical and useful advice on the use of statistics and probability in such areas as jury selection, discrimination, trademark disputes, criminal law, civil law, and product liability.
    —Forensic Science Communications, April 2003, Vol. 5, No. 2

    This is the best book on statistics and the law that has ever been written … Unless your company never appears in any adversarial proceeding, this book should be on your bookshelf. It is profusely illustrated with a wealth of cases that will interest any statistician.
    —Technometrics, May 2002

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