The Political Scientist as Expert Witness

Political scientists serve in courtrooms as expert witnesses on many topics related to their professional training: elections, same-sex marriages, employer sanctions for hiring undocumented aliens, school desegregation, political asylum requests, property rights, and racial profiling, among many others. It is not by chance that we—the authors—have chosen to testify as experts in cases concerning elections (see also Cain 1999). Election-related cases compose a large percentage of all cases involving political scientists brought to court: a study of references to expert testimony by political scientists in published federal district court decisions from 1950 through 1989 reports that 61% involved election law issues (Leigh 1991). Our replication of this study for the period of 2000 through December 18, 2010, reveals that 74% of such cases (28 of 38) involved election law issues. These cases involved issues of minority vote dilution, redistricting, alternative election systems (cumulative and limited voting), campaign financing, voting equipment and invalid ballots, voter registration, nominating petition requirements, and a number of other issues

Election law · Expert witness · Federal election · Federal law · Legislation · Political science · Politics · Redistricting · Sanctions · Voter registration · Voting · Witness · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems · Legal and Constitutional Studies · Public Administration

• AI and Redistricting

  Open Access•Wendy K Tam Cho, Bruce E Cain•The Forum•2022

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• How Social Scientists Make Causal Claims in Court

  Open Access•Federico Brandmayr•Science Technology & Human Values•2017

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• The Paradox of Representation

  D Lublin•Paradox of Representation•1997

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• Expert vs. Expert

  A Wuffle•PS Political Science & Politics•1985

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• For the Plaintiffs

  Open Access•Ray La Raja, Sidney M Milki•PS Political Science & Politics•2004

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• Are Expert Witnesses Whores? Reflections on Objectivity in Scholarship and Expert Witnessing

  J Morgan Kousser•The Public Historian•1984

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• Commentary

  Open Access•Michael Ruse•Science Technology & Human Values•1986

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• Law and Data

  Henry E Brady, Michael C Herron et al.•PS Political Science & Politics•2001

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• Pruning Thorns from the Thicket

  Open Access•Richard L Engstrom, John K Wildgen•Legislative Studies Quarterly•1977

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• A Unified Method of Evaluating Electoral Systems and Redistricting Plans

  Andrew Gelman, Gary King•American Journal of Political…•1994

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• The Law and Economics of the Economic Expert Witness

  Open Access•Richard A Posner•The Journal of Economic…•1999

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• The Expert Witness

  Open Access•James K Mitchell•Geographical Review•1978

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• Do Majority-Minority Districts Maximize Substantive Black Representation in Congress

  Open Access•Charles M Cameron, Charles Cameron et al.•American Political Science Review•1996

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