Version 1:
Why should we expect the legal system to be eager to adopt the results of scientific studies in its procedures? This is the same legal system, after all, that has proven incapable of any coherent position on the admissibility and meaning of DNA testing and other scientific evidence. Even the most rock-solid scientific evidence can be effectively contested in a courtroom, and any police department that modifies its long-standing procedures is asking for trouble from sharp defense attorneys.
The reality is that the intellectual principles behind the law -- deference to precedent, syllogistic reasoning, prizing human testimony over physical evidence -- are fundamentally hostile to the kind of information science provides. In order for scientific experimentation to transform the justice system, the justice system will need first to understand what science can and cannot do, a shift that would be far more subtle and far-reaching than merely tinkering with the size of a jury or the format of a lineup. Until then, these "simple" changes will be doomed to failure.
Version 2:
Why should Gawande expect the legal system to be eager to adopt the results of scientific studies? This is the same system, after all, that has proved incapable of any coherent position on the admissibility and meaning of DNA and other scientific evidence. A good lawyer can effectively contest even the most rock-solid scientific proofs, and any police department that experimented with procedures in the way Gawande suggests would be inviting challenges from defense attorneys. In order for the justice system to be transformed by science, it would first need to recognize how its own intellectual principles -- deference to form and precedent, syllogistic reasoning, the prizing of human testimony -- can be hostile to the truth.
Version 3:
Why should Atul Gawande expect the legal system to be eager to adopt new, scientifically tested methods? This is a system, after all, that has proved incapable of a clear position on the admissability and meaning of DNA. A good lawyer can effectively contest even rock-solid scientific evidence, and any police department that experimented with its procedures woud be inviting challenges from defense attorneys. For the justice system to be transformed by science, it first needs to recognize how its own intellectual principles -- deference to form and precedent, syllogistic reasoning, the value placed on witness testimony -- can be hostile to the truth.