Courses

Science and the Courts (SC)

Section 1ZO, J-Term 21

Schedule Information

Enrollment: 7/16

Credits: 1

Course Description

Science plays an ever increasing role in the courts, typified by everything from debate about the reliability of forensic evidence in criminal cases to global warming disputes in environmental cases to genome patent disputes in intellectual property cases to scientific controversies about prescription drug defects in mass tort cases to the admissibility of adolescent brain development evidence in death penalty cases, and so forth. This short course addresses the difficulties that courts encounter in dealing with scientific evidence and scientific concepts, both at the practical level and at the jurisprudential level. While the readings are somewhat long for a “short” course, students will be expected only to “skim” the longer cases.

Course Requirements

Exam Info:

Midterm Type (if any): None

Description: None

Final Type (if any): Due Date Only

Description: Students will be given a take-home exam. Students will be on their honor to take the exam in the stated amount of time and uploading their answer(s) to EXPO by the deadline. In accordance with Academic Policy the deadline will be no later than noon two weeks after the last class session.

Final Exam Notes:

Students will be given a take-home exam. Students will be on their honor to take the exam in the stated amount of time and uploading their answer(s) to EXPO by the deadline. In accordance with Academic Policy the deadline will be no later than noon two weeks after the last class session.

Written Work Product

Written Work Product:

Other Work

Other Course Details

Prerequisites: None Concurrencies: None

Mutually Exclusive With: None

Laptops Allowed: Yes

First Day Attendance Required: Yes

Course Notes:

Graduation Requirements

*Satisfies Writing Requirement: No

**Credits For Prof. Skills Requirement: No

Satisfies Professional Ethics: No

*Yes means professor requires everyone in the course to submit a substantial research paper (which is the requirement standard in Academic Policies), so no paperwork required to be submitted to SRO. No means student must timely submit paperwork to SRO if intending to use a paper in this course to satisfy the Writing Requirement.

**Yes indicates course credits count towards UVA Law’s Prof. Skills graduation requirement, not necessarily a skills requirements for any particular state bar.