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The Relevance of “Irrelevant” Testimony: Why Lawyers Use Social Science Experts in School Desegregation Cases

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

Joseph Sanders ,
Betty Rankin-Widgeon ,
Debra Kalmuss  and
Mark Chesler
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Abstract

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Why do attorneys utilize social science experts in school desegregation cases? Although experts often testify for both parties in these cases, plaintiff lawyers are more likely than defense lawyers to call upon them. Plaintiff lawyers appear to have easier access to a network of scholars willing to testify. Moreover, plaintiff lawyers have a set of social theories and legal strategies that often requires the use of social science expertise. Although the testimony offered by social scientists is often not directly relevant to the legal issues in a trial, it is part of the attorney's attempt to educate or persuade the judge to a particular view of race relations and education.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , 1982 , pp. 403 - 428
Copyright
Copyright © 1982 The Law and Society Association.

Footnotes

*

This paper is a revised version of a presentation made to the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, 1980.

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