Michael Saks

The latest edition of Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony, by Professor Michael Saks and three others, has just been published by West.

The other authors are David L. Faigman, Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings, College of the Law; Joseph Sanders, A.A. White Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center; and Edward K. Cheng, Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School.

The five-volume publication, described as a detailed guide for judges and lawyers following the scientific evidence issues raised by the Daubert ruling, helps assess the validity of an expert’s scientific methodology.

It challenges the use of “generally accepted” scientific ideas when ruling on admissibility or managing expert witnesses in state and federal courts, prepares trial attorneys to explain scientific concepts during admissibility arguments and confidently elicit or challenge expert testimony during trial. It also discusses fundamental legal and scientific principles, scientific research methods, statistical proof, and multiple regression and examines specific topics, discussing current law and science in each particular field.

Saks is a Regents’ Professor of Law and Psychology and Faculty Fellow at the Center for Law, Science & Innovation. His research focuses on empirical studies of the legal system, especially decision-making; the behavior of the litigation system; and the law’s use of science. He is the fourth most-cited law-and-social-science scholar in the U.S., and has authored approximately 200 articles and books.