Abstract

To reach reasoned decisions involving issues of public policy and law, statistical data and studies often need to be assessed for their accuracy and relevance. This two-volume set presents a unique and comprehensive treatment of statistical methods in legal practice. Designed to serve as a text or reference, the book presents basic concepts of probability and statistical inference applied to actual data arising from court cases concerning discrimination, trademark evidence, environmental and occupational exposure to toxic chemicals, and related health and safety topics. Substantial attention is devoted to assessing the strengths and weaknesses of statistical studies, with examples illustrating why some health studies may not have been properly designed at the outset and how actual decisions might have been reversed had more appropriate analysis of data been available to the court. This book will be of interest to lawyers and other practitioners of the law, as well as to students and researchers in the areas of statistics, statistical economics, political science, and law.
The examples, mainly of the possible under-representation of non-whites and females on juries and of their lower employment status compared to whites and males (respectively) with similar qualifications, make stimulating reading, as do the epidemiological examples. These could all be of use in teaching statistics by illustrating the width of application of the subject.
--TEACHING STATISTICS
With the publication of Statistical Reasoning in Law and Public Policy, what is heard in the courtroom may move into the classroom. Gastwirth, a professor of statistics and economics at George Washington University who has served as a consultant and expert witness in many a case, has produced a two-volume work designed to serve as a textbook for students of law and public policy as well as a resource for individuals....As a textbook, these volumes are unique....Statistical Reasoning in Law and Public Policy explores an important domain of applied statistics, and it will help students, statistical consultants, attorneys, and courts find a passage through some perilous terrain.
--JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION
The volumes are interseting and informative, and a far cry from the made-up problems that pass for 'applications' in most texts.
--MATHEMATICS MAGAZINE
This book does an excellent and very effective job of making the reader aware of a variety of statistical concepts in legal and public policy issues without overwheliming the text with the specifics of many statistical procedures. Lawyers and policymakers would benefit greatly from the many cases that are cited and which result from the author's experience as an expert witness or consultant...Highly recommended for undergraduate, graduate, and law school libraries.
--CHOICE
This book introduces the reader to the concepts of statistics and applies them to a wide variety of data sets which arise in the context of legal an dpublic policy decision making.
--MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS