Law and Science

Law and Science: Cases and Materials is a case-based approach to introducing the interdisciplinary relationship between science, engineering, technology, and law.

The format of the book examines different perspectives in this interdisciplinary relationship. Sutton first introduces historical cases with a scientific aspect and then offers other cases which may be familiar to the reader, but which are examined from a scientific perspective as well as the more familiar legal perspective. The major sections of the book address the public sector and science and the law; the private sector and science and the law; and the future of the relationship from the perspective of scientists as well as of courts and lawyers.

The public sector section of the book addresses the federal government's participation in science, federal regulation, and state and local regulation of the scientific and medical community. The private sector section addresses individual rights, such as science, law and religion; disclosure of medical information; human tissues; and the changing concept of the "expectation of privacy." The section on the courts, law and science addresses scientific evidence, DNA, toxicological and epidemiological evidence, social science evidence, and a discussion of pre-trial and trial practice applications. The final section addresses future issues in science, technology, and the law including environmental diseases, DNA, stem cell research, national security, and approaches to addressing those challenges for both scientists and lawyers.

This casebook, while designed for law students, could also be useful for an advanced science policy course or in a professional science program, as well as for those interested in the intersection of law and science.