Dimensions: 8.00'' x 0.75'' x 5.25'' 144 pages Perseus Books Group Publication Date: May 1997 Paperback ISBN: 0465047335 Hardcover ISBN: 0465036244

Questions of right and wrong quickly become obscured when social science invades the courtroom, writes James Q. Wilson, author of The Moral Sense and On Character. The justice system is now dangerously prone to the "abuse excuse," in which defendants deny personal responsibility for their crimes and instead blame outside forces for making them do their deeds (e.g. the Menendez brothers). As a result, trials can become duels between so-called expert witnesses who, like mercenaries, will offer their highly partisan services to any lawyer who can pay them. This volume provides a helpful overview to an important problem and offers constructive solutions for avoiding future debacles.

James Q. Wilson is the chairman of AEI's Council of Academic Advisers.