| Abstract: | Over the past 75 years, social science references in court decisions have changed from an anonymous footnote to an appendix to a brief ( Muller v. Oregon , 1908) to extensive discussion of social science methods and results to changing a rule of law based on social science propositions ( Hovey v. Superior Court , 1980). The acceptance of social science may be traced in state court decisions as well as in Supreme Court cases. The academic field of law has, since its entrance into the university, identified itself with the rhetoric, if not the model of science. Although earlier attempts to introduce social science into law were relatively unsuccessful, there is now a sufficient acceptance and a sufficient professional infrastructure to predict a growing influence of social science in law. |
