Science in the Law School Curriculum: The Diffusion of Practice Innovations after Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

在道伯特三部曲之后，美国法律的文化的实践环境发生了广泛的变化。 不仅诉讼案件的种类发生了变化，而且法律的专业人员提供、质疑和评估专家证词发挥作用的案件所需的技能也发生了变化。 然而，法学院之间存在着很大的差距，在数量和种类的课程，旨在为未来的律师提供有关科学或科学证据的知识和经验。 本研究将采用扩散模型来调查法学院和法学院教授在多大程度上将涉及科学证据的诉讼案件的创新纳入法学院课程。 一个多方法的研究，结合从电话抽样调查的法学院教授，课程材料的内容分析，并在相关网站上公布的档案数据获得的每个因素相关的数据将进行提供一个图片当前的教育景观，并确定相关的因素，法律专业学生的科学教育的可用性和内容。 本研究的结果将通过确定相关的阅读材料和信息来源，并描述课程格式和内容，为法学教授和法律的专业人士提供资源。 这些资料将用于编制科学证据课程的示范课程，供法学教授使用。 关于要调查的因素的信息也可以被法学院管理人员用来确定其课程的优点和缺点，并可用于支持增加资金和资源的论点，以改善其学校的课程。 最后，该项目有可能通过提供可用于更好地为法律专业学生未来的律师，法官和立法者职业生涯做好准备的资源来显著和积极地影响社会。

Following the Daubert trilogy, broad changes have occurred within the practice environment of the United States legal culture. Not only have the kinds of cases that are being litigated changed, but also the skills needed by legal professionals to proffer, challenge, and evaluate cases in which expert testimony plays a part. However, wide disparity exists among law schools in the number and variety of courses offered that are designed to provide future attorneys with knowledge and experience related to science or scientific evidence. This research will apply a diffusion model to investigate the extent to which law schools and law school professors have incorporated innovations in litigating cases involving scientific evidence into the law school curriculum. A multi-method study incorporating data related to each of the factors obtained from a telephone sample survey of law school professors, content analysis of course materials, and archival data published on relevant web sites will be conducted to provide a picture of the current educational landscape and to identify the factors that are related to the availability and content of science education for law students. The findings of this research will provide resources for law professors and legal professionals by identifying relevant readings and sources of information, and describing course formats and contents. This information will be used to produce a model curriculum for a scientific evidence course, which will be made available to law professors. Information about the factors to be investigated can also be used by law school administrators to identify strengths and weaknesses in their curriculum, and may be used to support arguments for additional funding and resources in order to improve the curricula of their schools. Finally, this project has the potential to significantly and positively impact society by providing resources that may be used to better prepare law students for their future careers as attorneys, judges, and legislators.