This article originally appeared in the National Law Journal
and is republished here by permission of
law.com.
During the past decade, the drumbeat against corporate-funded
science has sounded in major journals, books and the news media.
The backlash against this research has seeped into the judicial
system, appearing to influence judges and juries to believe that
"buying science" is a corporate phenomenon. Perhaps no
greater example of this trend is the U.S. Supreme Court decision in
Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U.S. 471 (2008), in which
Justice David Souter — writing for a 5-3 majority
— declined to rely on a body of jury research examining
the predictability of punitive damage awards, simply because the
"research was funded in part by Exxon," the corporate
defendant. The criticisms of corporate-funded scientific research,
specifically in litigation, will likely continue affecting
corporations and various industries for decades. From recently
instituted
