Judicial Symposium on Scientific Methodology and the Admissibility of Expert Testimony

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About

The Judicial Symposium on Scientific Methodology and the Admissibility of Expert Testimony will help judges better understand the tools and techniques used by scientific and other expert witnesses. With a combination of lectures, panel discussions, and case studies, the program will give insight into how experts apply the scientific method and will offer practical lessons to help you evaluate scientific reports and expert testimony.

The Symposium will delve into the subjects of statistics, toxicology, and epidemiology and will include presentations on the scientific method and the nature of expert testimony. Leading scientists, legal scholars, and practitioners will also discuss the intersection of science and policy, the recognition of good science in the courtroom, and the role of judges as gatekeepers.

Space is limited; applications are considered on a first come, first served basis. JEP programs are offered as a public service: there is no tuition; reading materials, hotel rooms, and group meals are included; and, upon successful completion of the program, participants are reimbursed for qualifying travel expenses. Judges are expected to attend all sessions and group meals.

Susan Dudley will participate in two panels during this event.

Tuesday, March 8 -- 12:15 - 2:00 pm

Regulation of Emerging Risks – Precautionary Principle or Risk v. Risk

• Susan Dudley, Director, George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center; Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, George Washington University
• Elissa Philip Gentry, Assistant Professor, Florida State University College of Law
• Charles R. Santerre, Department Chair and Professor of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Science, Clemson University
• Jonathan B. Wiener, William R. & Thomas L. Perkins Professor of Law, and Professor of Environmental Policy & Public Policy, Duke University
• Moderator: Mary Ellen Williams, Judge, US Court of Federal Claims

Reading Assignment:

• Marchant, Gary E. “From General Policy to Legal Rule: Aspirations and Limitations of the Precautionary Principle.” Environmental Health Perspectives 111, no. 14 (2003): 1799-1803.
• Dudley, Susan E., et. al. “Dynamic Benefit-Cost Analysis for Uncertain Futures.” Journal of Benefit Cost Analysis 10, 2 (2019): 206–225.
• Viscusi, W. Kip and Richard J. Zeckhauser. “Regulating Ambiguous Risks: The Less than Rational Regulation of Pharmaceuticals.” Journal of Legal Studies 44 (2015): S387-422.
• Wiener, Jonathan B. “Precautionary Principle.” Encyclopedia of Environmental Law 6, no. 13 (2018): 174-185.
• Wiener, Jonathan B. “Precaution in a Multirisk World.” In Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: Theory and Practice, 1509-1531. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002.

Wednesday, March 9 -- 11:00 am - 12:15 pm

The Politicization of Science and the Scientization of Policy

• Susan Dudley, Director, George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center; Distinguished Professor of Practice, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, George Washington University
• Blake Hudson, Samuel T. Dell Professor and Co-Director, Environmental and Land Use Law Program University of Florida Levin College of Law
• D. Bruce Johnsen, Professor Emeritas of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
• Gary E. Marchant, Regents Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law, Science, and Innovation Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
• Moderator: Robert J. Colville, District Judge, US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Reading Assignment:

• Dudley, Susan E. and Marcus Peacock. “Improving Regulatory Science: A Case Study of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.” Supreme Court Economic Review 24, 49 (2016): 49-99.