Doctoral Dissertation Research: Science in Court: An analysis of selected environmental litigation in the US from 1990 to 2018

博士论文研究：法庭上的科学：1990年至2018年美国选定环境诉讼分析该项目评估了1990年至2018年美国环境诉讼中如何纳入科学方法和发现。该项目侧重于三个关键领域：1)诉讼中使用的科学证据类型以及这些证据如何影响司法判决；2)导致当事人寻求科学信息供法庭使用的因素，以及激励科学家提供这些信息的因素；3)环境科学的不确定性是如何在法律纠纷中形成和解决的。该项目有可能改变我们对科学如何在司法部门以及更广泛地在政府决策中被引入、讨论、构建和使用的理解。该项目将采用定性和定量方法研究1990年至2018年间涉及环境问题的约400起诉讼。将对这些案件的摘要和判决进行系统审查，并对参与案件的个人样本进行深入访谈。该研究将案件的定义因素（例如，年份，诉讼人类型，地点，法律问题，科学问题和司法决定）与感兴趣的结果联系起来。这样做将有助于调查诉讼当事人和法院对科学进步的反应，以及科学家以更容易获得的方式向非科学受众传播他们的工作的努力。通过将科学证据的特征与案件的结果联系起来，该研究使未来的诉讼当事人能够更好地理解如何将科学信息更有效地纳入法律推理和论证。反过来，法院的裁决可能反映了科学与法律推理之间更强的联系。此外，资助机构可以利用这项研究的结果来更好地支持这一领域的研究。通过描述法庭环境科学的需求和供给，该项目弥合了科学、法律和公共政策之间的差距。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Doctoral Dissertation Research: Science in Court: An analysis of selected environmental litigation in the US from 1990 to 2018This project evaluates how scientific methods and findings have been incorporated in environmental litigation in the United States between 1990 and 2018. The project focuses on three, key areas: 1) the types of scientific evidence used in litigation and how that evidence influences judicial decisions; 2) the factors that lead litigants to seek scientific information for use in the courtroom, as well as the factors that motivate scientists to provide that information; and 3) how uncertainties in environmental science are framed and addressed in legal disputes. This project has the potential to transform our understanding of how science is introduced, discussed, framed, and used in the judicial branch and, more broadly, in governmental policymaking. This project will use both qualitative and quantitative methods to study about 400 lawsuits that have addressed environmental matters between 1990 and 2018. There will be a systematic review of the briefs and decisions from these cases, complemented by in-depth interviews with a sample of individuals who participated in the cases. The study will link the defining factors of the cases (e.g., year, type of litigants, location, legal issue, scientific issue, and judicial decision) to the outcomes of interest. Doing so will facilitate an investigation of how litigants and the courts are reacting to scientific advances and to efforts by scientists to communicate their work in more accessible ways to nonscientific audiences. By linking the characteristics of the scientific evidence to the outcomes of cases, the research permits future litigants to better understand how scientific information can be more effectively incorporated in legal reasoning and argumentation. In turn, courts' decisions may reflect a stronger link between science and legal reasoning. Furthermore, the results of this research can be utilized by funding agencies to better support research in this area. By characterizing the demand for and supply of environmental science in the courtroom, this project bridges the gaps between science, law, and public policy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.