The Use Of Social Science Evidence In Constitutional Adjudication

Download or read book The Use of Social Science Evidence in Constitutional Adjudication written by Jodi Lazare and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This thesis examines the practice of judicial reliance on social science evidence in the context of Canadian Charter litigation. It undertakes in-depth readings of two recent trial decisions dealing with prostitution and polygamy, which required the judges to analyze vast amounts of social science empirical data. The argument is that the legal system's prioritization of persuasion, victory and the definitive resolution of disputes prevents it from maximizing the potential contributions that the social sciences can bring to the law and the legal search for truth. The doctrine of stare decisis may also require rethinking. This thesis also explores the idea that adversarial adjudication is ill suited to the balancing of a variety of unsettled issues often required by Charter challenges. This difficulty is compounded by the demonstrated weaknesses of legal education and its failure to equip future lawyers and judges with the non-legal skills required to deal with complex and conflicting empirical data. Last, the thesis looks at another major flaw in Anglo-American adjudication, the party selection of expert witnesses and the necessary bias which results, providing an overview of alternative procedural mechanisms. Overall, the difficulties in combining the law and the social sciences can only be remedied by moving towards a more inquisitorial method of resolving constitutional disputes." --