Social Science in Court: Mobilizing Experts in the School Desegregation Cases

The authors focus not only on the legal issues but also on the broader issues of conflict resolution, managed social change, and the public role of social science. They first provide a chronicle of the events leading up to the Brown case, and then a thorough and detailed analysis of the social science expert witnesses called upon to testify in the desegregation cases that followed. In the course of their research, they interviewed 90 scientists who appeared as witnesses, 70 lawyers who tried these cases for both plaintiff and defense groups, and 10 trial judges who presided in the cases. No other study has been so broadly encompassing, both in the number of cases and in the span of time involved.

Mark A. Chesler was, at the time of publication, professor in the department of sociology at the University of Michigan. Joseph Sanders was associate professor of law at the University of Houston. Debra S. Kalmuss was associate professor of public health at Columbia University.