When Law and Medicine Meet: A Cultural View

What happens when two systems, law and medicine, are joined in the arena of the court? This work deals with the structure and the premises of two diverse discourse models; the approach is anthropological.

Several chapters are preponderantly based on legal research, addressing cases requiring testimony by expert witnesses on recent technologies used in the laboratories of medical scientists. Descriptions of other societies and cultures consider the identical problems of rights, privileges, and duties, and provide perspectives to cultural self-knowledge.

This volume can be used as a text for courses taught in medical schools and law schools. It will be of particular interest to students taking courses in health science, public health, medical anthropology, forensic anthropology, psychology, sociology, public justice, behavioral sciences, forensic psychiatry, legal anthropology, social welfare, as well as courses on research models.

"At times difficult scientific and legal concepts are discussed in an entirely clear, accessible way - in an engaging even-paced writing style."

"The O.J. Simpson trial is particularly gripping; going beyond an analysis of assessing scientific methods in a court of law, the authors insightfully discuss ideological interpretations that 'facts' and perceptions engender in terms of race, class, and ethnicity."

"The authors are accomplished professionals who have spent a lifetime studying and practicing the subjects they address and who have reached in surrounding disciplines to take and make connections for all concerned. This is medical anthropology at its most thoughtful and practical."

Inhalt
Primitive Yet Contemporary: Matrices of Meaning.- The Shape of Believing.- From Myth to Law.- The Romance of Science and Medicine.- The Science of Commitment.- Criminal Behavior and Brain Imaging Techno-Science.- DNA Fingerprinting.- Notes from the Trial of the Century.- Logics of Discovery, Chance, and Scientific Evidence in the Court.