EXPERT TESTIMONY:
Project Offers Judges Neutral Science Advice
Jocelyn Kaiser
Federal judges looking for impartial scientists to help sift through complex technical evidence will soon have an easy way to find them. Last week the American Association for the Advancement of Science (publisher of Science) launched a 5-year pilot project to supply judges with lists of experts who can provide advice in complicated cases, such as claims of software patent infringement or illness from exposure to a toxic substance. The project is intended to cut through the legal confusion generated when expert witnesses hired by each side dispute the significance of such evidence.