COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND LAW (CSTL)

The National Academies in 1998 established the Science, Technology, and Law Program, (now called the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law) to bring together the science and engineering community and the legal community to explore pressing issues, improve communication and help resolve issues between the two communities. A major activity for the program has been the convening of a distinguished committee chosen for their knowledge and expertise and who represent a wide range of organizations including federal courts, the legal community, industry, academia, and government. Under the leadership of co-chairs Donald Kennedy and Richard Merrill, the committee meets twice a year in a neutral and non-adversarial setting to discuss critical issues at the interface of science, technology, and the law; to promote understanding; and to develop imaginative approaches to solving problems of mutual concern.

The next meeting of the committee will be in March 2010.

PAST MEETINGS / EARLY ACTIVITIES / PROJECTS TIMELINE

EARLY ACTIVITIES

SCIENCE IN LITIGATION: POST DAUBERT
FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICY/ACCESS TO DATA
SCIENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
HUMAN RESEARCH SUBJECTS

sCIENCE IN LITIGATION: POST DAUBERT

What is Daubert?

In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., laid out a new test for federal trial judges to use when determining the admissibility of expert testimony. In the Daubert case, the Court recognized that issues requiring expert testimony are, by definition, outside the realm of an ordinary juror’s scope of knowledge. The Court ruled that judges should act as gatekeepers in the courtroom, assessing the reliability of the scientific methodology and reasoning that supports expert testimony as a condition of allowing such testimony to be presented to the jury.

More information on Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579, may be found here. 

Annual National Conference on Science and Law (2005, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999)
A collaboration with National Institute of Justice with support provided by the STL Program.

Brooklyn Law School, Science for Judges Program (2005, 2004, 2003)
Staff support provided by the STL Program

Joint STL/American Law Institute Seminar on Causation in Tort Litigation (January 2003)
Transcript
Sponsors: American Law Institute and STL Program

Scientific Evidence Workshop (September 2000)
Workshop Report: The Age of Expert Testimony: Science in the Courtroom (2002)
Sponsors: Warren and Eloise Batts Fund, Federal Judicial Center, Procter & Gamble, National Academies Endowment Fund

Issues in Science and Technology
This project focused on the implications of Daubert for civil litigation (Science and Law, Summer 2000) and criminal litigation (Flaws in Forensic Science, Fall 2003)
Sponsor: STL Program

Committee on Daubert Standards

Discussions of the Committee on Daubert Standards: Summary of Meetings

FEDERAL INFORMATION POLICY/ACCESS TO RESEARCH DATA

Follow-up meeting with representatives of the academic, business, and public interest communities to discuss revisions to the proposed OMB Peer Review Standards (May 2004)
Sponsor: National Academies

Workshop on OMB Proposed Standards for Peer Review of Regulatory Science and Technical Information (November 2003)
Disseminated by the Federal Government
Sponsors: Environmental Protection Agency and STL Program

Workshop on Seeking Access to Research Data in the 21st Century: An Ongoing Dialogue Among Interested Parties (2001)
Summary report: Access to Research Data in the 21st Century (2002)
Sponsors: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and STL Program

Ensuring the Quality of Data Disseminated by the Federal Government: (Three workshops, March and May 2002)
Workshop Report: Ensuring the Quality of Data Disseminated by the Federal Government (2003)
Sponsors: Environment Protection Agency; National Science Foundation; Department of Health and Human Services; Department of Energy; and Department of Labor

sCIENCE AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Workshop on Balancing National Security and Open Scientific Communication: Implications of September 11th for the Research University (December 2001)
Letter Report (2002)
Sponsor: National Academies Endowment Fund

Foreign Students’ Participation at U.S. Universities
Convened a working group consisting of lawyers, scientists, university presidents, and ambassadors, to discuss U.S. policies governing foreign students’ participation at U.S. universities (November 2001)
Sponsor: STL Program

Committee on a New Government-University Partnership for Science and Security

Science and Security in a Post 9/11 World: A Report Based on Regional Discussions Between the Science and Security Communities

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Madey v. Duke
Convened a meeting with university community and legal community regarding the implications of the Federal Circuit decision in Madey v Duke, which dramatically narrows public and private research institutions ability to claim a “research defense” against patent infringement allegations (October 2002)
Sponsor: STL Program

human research subjects

Intentional Human Dosing Studies for EPA Regulatory Purposes: Scientific and Ethical Issues (2004)
A study requested by the Environmental Protection Agency, which considered the question of when, if ever, the agency should accept and rely on intentional human dosing studies conducted to gather data relating to the risks to humans of exposure to chemicals.
Summary Report: Intentional Human Dosing Studies for EPA Regulatory Purposes: Scientific and Ethical Issues
Sponsor: Environmental Protection Agency