Here are some reviews of STATISTICS FOR LAWYERS, 2nd Edition,
by Michael O. Finkelstein and Bruce Levin.

Ziegel, E.R., Technometrics, May 2002, Volume 44, Issue 2, page 200.
Copyright American Statistical Association, May 2002

Statistics for Lawyers (2nd ed.), by Michael O. FINKELSTEIN and Bruce LEVIN, New York: Springer-Verlag, 2001, ISBN 0-587-95007-9, xxx + 617 pp., $79.95.

Statistics for legal applications is a new genre that is becoming increasingly more commonplace. This is the first book on statistics for lawyers that has come out in a second edition. Statistics books for lawyers have been getting ever better. In this issue I give glowing praise to the fine new book by Good (2001). When it appeared, the first edition of this book was my pick as the best available book of its kind. It was also the first book to fully integrate statistical methodology with its use in litigation in the courts. In the review of the first edition (Ziegel 1992), I wrote: "I strongly recommend this book for any statisticians who must help lawyers understand statistics or who are consulting with lawyers to support their efforts with statistical assistance. This book has been carefully prepared to provide cogent and succinct information about a broad spectrum of statistical methods applicable to jurisprudence. There is complete linkage to actual cases in which statistics has played a role in the judicial process." My description of the first edition was fairly complete by my editorial report standards.

The most impressive change in the book can be attributed to the publisher, who has included the book in its relatively new series on Statistics for Science and Public Policy. First published as an inexpensive softcover edition, the book is now a beautiful hardcover volume at twice the price of the first edition, although it is certainly not overpriced. The most significant improvement is the layout. The statistical content for each of the chapters creates the sections, and the cases provide subsections. In the first edition, everything was a section. The authors highlight the new topics for the cases in the second edition: "DNA evidence, epidemiologic studies in toxic substance litigation, statistical models for adjusting census counts, and vote dilution cases" (p. vii). There is an entirely new chapter on statistics in epidemiology. Other new content includes Monte Carlo methods, additional probability distributions (geometric and exponential), and several new regression methods. The very long regression chapter was split, and the second chapter, on the more complex methods, now covers time series models and locally weighted regression.

More comprehensive than the book by Good (2001) and authored jointly by a lawyer and a statistician, this book continues to be a wonderful resource for the use of statistics in the courts. It would be wonderful to know what my father, now deceased, a trial judge for 36 years in county and state courts in Ohio, would think of this book and his need for some comprehension of statistical methods in understanding testimony and rendering decisions. Maybe he would even be more impressed now with his son who did not choose to become a lawyer.

REFERENCES
Good, P. (2001), Applying Statistics in the Courtroom, Boca Raton, FL: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Ziegel, E. (1992), Editor's Report for Statistics for Lawyers, by M. Finkelstein and B. Levin, Technometrics, 34, 122-123.
Ziegel, E. (2002), Editor's Report for Applying Statistics in the Courtroom, by P. Good, Technometrics, 44, forthcoming.


From Hutton, J.L. (2002), Biometrics, Volume 58, page 605:

...There are 21 examples, from vascular surgery and commodity trades to torture in the Philippines, in the chapter on statistical inference for two proportions. A sensible discussion of measures of the differences between proportions precedes theory, which includes Fisher and chi-squared test, maximum likelihood estimation, power and confidence intervals. Later material builds on these standard concepts of estimators in covering topics such as linear, probit, logistic and Poisson regression, times series, survival analysis, Monte Carlo methods and epidemiology.

There are solutions for most calculations, with discussion, including further aspects of statistical methods. Legal discussion is mainly left to the reader. Indexes, contents, and appendices are all excellent, making the book particularly useful as a reference book.

In terms of thoroughness, relevance and presentation, this is an excellent book. As an introduction for lawyers to methods of statistical analysis, I think it is too optimistic about their background. It is a very interesting book, rather than a first textbook, as it requires a committed reader. The contrast with medical statistics textbooks, especially the introductory texts, is striking. Statisticians might find it useful as a source of research project ideas and examination questions. Reference libraries for lawyers should all have this book.


From Haigh, J. (2002), The Statistician [Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series D], Volume 51, Part 4, page 577:

Although the fields of law and statistics have interacted for many years, recent developments in natural science (e.g. DNA profiling) and social science (e.g. equal opportunities, discrimination and possible deterrence effects of sentencing) have made us more aware of their links. This new edition is an expanded version of the book that was first published in 1990 and forms a happy collaboration between a practising lawyer who also teaches and a distinguished statistician with considerable experience of testifying in court. It will also be useful to statistics teachers in fields away from law, both for the quality of the exposition and for the variety of statistical issues covered. Few statistics books are as rich in real data as this.

Each chapter has a common statistical theme, illustrated by data from court cases. Questions related to these data are posed, and the reader is challenged to respond. A 70-page appendix contains comment and analysis from the authors. The first example of Chapter One, on descriptive statistics, sets the tone: how to estimate the amount of cash stolen by a rogue firm of New York parking meter attendants over a 10-month period, given data on the amounts collected by different firms over 3 years. One has to deal with a time trend, as well as discontinuities from petrol rationing and a rail strike. Other data from this chapter include how long it takes sleeping-pills to work, the variation in the size of electorates in Texas districts and heart disease mortality compared with egg consumption in 40 countries. Nearly all the book's data come from USA sources, but there are occasional visits elsewhere--the ancient trial of the Pyx, to determine whether the UK coinage was being debased, leukaemia clusters near Sellafield and Quetelet.s data on the heights of conscripts, for example. All 150 legal cases that are specifically listed arose in the USA. ...

...The whole book is attractively set out, with diagrams, photographs and maps, as well as tables of figures and computer output, to engage the reader. The bibliography is usefully divided into topics, with the statistical books classified by the level of sophistication, lawyers being warned to seek guidance from an expert. The index is good. Because the emphasis is, understandably, on topics arising in the country where both authors work, some of the probabilistic and statistical issues that have tested UK courts have little mention; no Adams, Doheny or Clarke.

But, aside from criminal cases, are citizens becoming more litigous? Is there now a compensation culture, in employment and pay discrimination, in medical and financial negligence, in consumerwarranties and in (the lack of) educational opportunities? A valid case may need statistical support and, as the present book shows, the statistical expertise that is required is often substantial. The two authors deserve thanks and admiration from the statistical profession for this timely and authoritative work.


From Amazon.com:

From the reviews of the second edition:

"The dangers of misusing statistics are illustrated by the case of People vs. Collins, in which the product of the probabilities of several characteristics described by eyewitnesses was presented as convincing evidence against the defendant. This book analyses this and numerous other interesting examples to show the relevance of statistics to forensic science, medicine, commerce and the law. Each of the statistical concepts and procedures is presented with examples that include exercises based on actual data. The book is quite readable."

Dr. Henry Roberts, Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 35, 2003)

"This book is designed to introduce law students, law teachers, practitioners, and judges to the basic ideas of mathematical probability and statistics as they are applied in the law. The cases and case studies reflect a broad variety of legal subjects, including antidiscrimination, mass torts, taxation, school finance, identification evidence and the death penalty. Significant new developments, reflected in this edition, include, for example, DNA evidence, epidemiologic studies in toxic substance litigation, statistical models for adjusting census counts, and vote-dilution cases."

Edward M. Psyadlo, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 983, 2002)

"***** One of the best books on statistics and the law, January 22, 2008

A reviewer for a statistics journal called Phil Good's 'Applying Statistics in the Courtroom' the best book ever written on statistics and the law. Given the fine books by Finkelstein, by Gastwirth and the deGroot, Feinberg and Kadane book, I think that was a gross overstatement. Phil does however get away from legalese and tries to present key issues. He does a nice job.

Finkelstein is a lawyer who with Herbert Robbins helped define what statistical evidence should be. He is well educated in statistics and his first edition was a classic. This book maintains the good features of the first book and provide a nice update with modern advances particularly in genetics. It is an introductory statistics text for lawyers with little or no statistical background and it teaches them the methods utilizing legal cases as examples.

I was very much impressed with the authors' analysis of the Florida vote in the 2000 Presidential election that Finkelstein presented in a talk at the Joint Statistical Meetings in New York in August 2002. I heard the talk and discovered that this meticulous and interesting analysis is covered in the book, section 4.5.3 "Election 2000: Who won Florida?" This detail is typical of the nice interplay between statistical methodology and important legal questions. It is just one example of the gems in this book!

The chapters are 1. Descriptive Statistics, 2. How to Count, 3. Elements of Probability, 4. Some Probability Distributions, 5. Statistical Inference for Two Proportions, 6. Comparing Multiple Proportions, 7. Comparing Means, 8. Combining Evidence Across Independent Strata, 9. Sampling Issues, 10. Epidemiology, 11. Survival Analysis, 12. Nonparametric Methods, 13. Regression Methods, 14. More Complex Regression Models.

With many interesting and famous cases as examples this book is valuable to statisticians like me as well as to attorneys."

Michael R. Chernick 'statman31147' (Holland PA)

Here are some excerpts from reviews of the first edition of Statistics for Lawyers
by Michael O. Finkelstein and Bruce Levin.

From The Institute of Mathematical Statistics Bulletin, Vol. 19, pp. 708-709, 1990:

"A series of several dozen case studies (e.g., Dalkon shield, automobile emission, death penalty, draft lotteries) arranged by relevant statistical methodology (e.g., descriptive statistics, counting, statistical inference, sampling, regression), interspersed with brief synopses of the relevant theoretical issues and commentary on actual court decisions. Numerous exercises require both calculation (full solutions at the end of the volume) and interpretation. Of interest both to future lawyers and to future statisticians; excellent source of ?relevant? examples."

Lynn Arthur Steen, St. Olaf College

 

From the Michigan Law Review, Vol. 89, pp.1520?1544, May 1991:

"I conclude that any prospective or practicing attorney who works through Statistics for Lawyers will indeed emerge with ?a fuller appreciation of the standards for analyzing data and making inferences? (p. ix). ?Statistics for Lawyers succeeds admirably in its goal of introducing the ideas and techniques of statistics that have the most application to the courtroom and to the formulation of legal doctrine. Despite its pedestrian title, it is not a routine statistics text with legal examples tossed in. The selection of topics and examples, as well as the exposition of statistics and law, is erudite, informed, and even entertaining. With a strong and steady hand, Statistics for Lawyers opens the tools chest of the professional statistician, permitting students of the law to peer within."

David H. Kaye, Arizona State University College of Law

 

From Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 86, pp. 544-546, June 1991:

"For its modest price it is a ?best buy? entrée to a smorgasbord of interesting legal issues and data sets. When supplemented by several thoughtful opinions, a truly exciting educational experience awaits both students and teacher. The main attraction of the book is that, whether or not one agrees with the suggested analysis or with the end result of the legal process, Statistics for Lawyers stimulates the reader to think. What more can one ask of scholarly text?"

Joseph L. Gastwirth, George Washington University

 

From Choice USA, January, 1991:

"Finkelstein and Levin?s book will greatly benefit both lawyers who struggle with the problem of understanding statistical analyses and statisticians who struggle with the problem of understanding the approaches used in legal settings. The book consists of a long, well-organized series of case studies, interlaced with sections explaining pertinent concepts from mathematical statistics and short problem sets that allow readers to check their mastery of the concepts. The mathematical sections will be moderately challenging to readers who have taken one or two semesters of undergraduate statistics. Although the authors claim that their aim is to introduce lawyers and prospective lawyers to methods of statistical analysis used in legal disputes, this book has a real place in any undergraduate statistics library, and should also be required reading for statisticians who may be called upon to present statistical analyses in legal disputes."

F. Giesbrecht, North Carolina State University

 

From Technometrics, Vol. 34, pp. 122-123, 1992:

"I strongly recommend this book for any statisticians who must help lawyers understand statistics or who are consulting with lawyers to support their efforts through statistical assistance. This book has been carefully prepared to provide cogent and succinct information about a broad spectrum of statistical methods applicable to jurisprudence. There is complete linkage to actual cases in which statistics has played a role in the judicial process. "

Eric R. Ziegel, Amoco Corporation 

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