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Historians as Expert Judicial Witnesses in Tobacco Litigation pp 261–275Cite as

Debates: Reflections in Academic and National Media

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Part of the book series: Studies in the History of Law and Justice ((SHLJ,volume 4))

Abstract

In this chapter, I discuss the debate that historians have had on the role historians as expert judicial witnesses have played in tobacco trials. I examine sources from academic journals such as Nature, The Lancet, The History News Network, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, while also adding those articles that originate in the regular media like The Nation, The New York Times, and The American Prospect. In addition, I examined who the protagonists of these debates were and what their arguments were. The debate revolves around already familiar problems of advocacy, objectivity, “hired guns”, but also on an attempt by the tobacco industry to censure plaintiffs’ experts Proctor and Kyriakoudes in 2009.

Attorney: Have you reviewed any other cigarette industry documents, internal documents, relative to this issue of health and cigarette smoking?

Otis Graham: I may have.

Otis Graham (Deposition in State of Texas v. American Tobacco Company et al.1997.)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 39, Robert Proctor.

  2. 2.

    Proctor, Robert. 2000. Expert Witnesses Take the Stand. Nature 407, 15.

  3. 3.

    Proctor, as n. 2, 16.

  4. 4.

    Proctor, as n. 2, 16.

  5. 5.

    Proctor, as n. 2, 16.

  6. 6.

    For other critical remarks on the Daubert standard see, Part II, Sect. 7.3.6.3. The Daubert Standard: Popper & the Judge as Gatekeeper, cfr. supra.

  7. 7.

    Proctor, as n. 2, 16.

  8. 8.

    Maggi, Laura. 2001. Bearing Witness for Tobacco. The American Prospect, November 9. http://prospect.org/article/bearing-witness-tobacco. Accessed 31 Oct 2014, 1. See Expert Witness Profile No. 1, Stephen Ambrose. & See Expert Witness Profile No. 30, Kenneth Ludmerer.

  9. 9.

    For my discussion on these trials see Part III, Sect. 13.2.1. The State Attorney Cases, cfr. supra.

  10. 10.

    Maggi, as n. 8, 3.

  11. 11.

    Maggi, as n. 8, 4.

  12. 12.

    Maggi, as n. 8, 3.

  13. 13.

    Maggi, as n. 8, 3.

  14. 14.

    Maggi, as n. 8, 3. See Expert Witness Profile No. 16, Lacy Ford.

  15. 15.

    Maggi, as n. 8, 3.

  16. 16.

    Maggi, as n. 8, 5.

  17. 17.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 30, Kenneth Ludmerer.

  18. 18.

    Kirpatrick, David. 2002. As Historian’s Fame Grows, So Do Questions on Methods. The New York Times, January 11. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/11/us/as-historian-s-fame-grows-so-do-questions-on-methods.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  19. 19.

    Cohen, Patricia. 2003. History for Hire In Industry Lawsuits. The New York Times, June 14. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/14/arts/history-for-hire-in-industry-lawsuits.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  20. 20.

    For more information on the study of Agnotology, see Part III, Sect. 13.4.3. Game III: The Third Wave of Tobacco Litigation, cfr. supra.

  21. 21.

    For Rosner and Markowitz, see my discussion in Part II, Sect. 6.2.3. Toxic Tort Litigation: Lead Paint Toxic Tort Litigation, cfr. supra.

  22. 22.

    Cohen, as n. 19.

  23. 23.

    Rothman, David. 2003. Serving Clio and Client: The Historian as Expert Witness. Bulletin of the History of Medicine 77, 26–31.

  24. 24.

    Rothman, as n. 23, 31.

  25. 25.

    Rothman, as n. 23, 44. For the “tu quoque-argument”, see Part I, Sect. 3.1.4. Descending the Ivory Tower, cfr. supra.

  26. 26.

    Rothman, as n. 23, 44.

  27. 27.

    Rothman, as n. 23, 44.

  28. 28.

    Rothman, as n. 23, 44.

  29. 29.

    Rothman, David. 2004. Medical Historians and the Tobacco Industry. The Lancet 364, 839.

  30. 30.

    Rothman, as n. 28, 839.

  31. 31.

    Cohen, as n. 19.

  32. 32.

    Proctor, Robert. 2004. Should Medical Historians Be Working for the Tobacco Industry? The Lancet 363, 1174.

  33. 33.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 10, Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. & See Expert Witness Profile No. 20, Jon Harkness.

  34. 34.

    See for example the quote “I did not draft the original report. It was drafted for me to save me time … it reflects my views.”, see Part III, Sect. 14.2.2.1. Deposition, cfr. supra.

  35. 35.

    Proctor, as n. 32, 1175. See Expert Witness Profile No. 4, Allan Brandt. & See Expert Witness Profile No. 26, Louis Kyriakoudes & See Expert Witness Profile No. 39, Robert Proctor.

  36. 36.

    Proctor, as n. 32, 1175.

  37. 37.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 6, John Burnham.

  38. 38.

    Burnham, John. 2004. Medical Historians and the Tobacco Industry. The Lancet 364, 838.

  39. 39.

    Proctor, Robert. 2004. Medical Historians and the Tobacco Industry, Author’s Reply. The Lancet 364, 838.

  40. 40.

    Proctor, as n. 39, 838.

  41. 41.

    See Part III, Sect. 15.4. David Rothman in the Bulletin of Historical Medicine, cfr. supra.

  42. 42.

    See Part III, Sect. 13.3.1. Engle, cfr. supra.

  43. 43.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 26, Louis Kyriakoudes & See Expert Witness Profile No. 41, Robert Proctor.

  44. 44.

    Schmidt, Peter. 2009. Big Tobacco Strikes Back at Historian in Court. The Chronicle of Higher Education 56, November 13.

  45. 45.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 34, Gregg Michel.

  46. 46.

    Schmidt, as n. 44.

  47. 47.

    Schmidt, as n. 44.

  48. 48.

    Schmidt, as n. 44.

  49. 49.

    Kaney, Jonathan. 2008. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reconsideration of Order Overruling Objections to Subpoena and for Protective Order Concerning Unpublished Manuscript. George Mason University’s History News Network, October 12. http://hnn.us/articles/118209.html. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  50. 50.

    Kaney, as n. 49.

  51. 51.

    Arvin, A. 2009. Amicus Curiae Brief from Stanford University in Koballa v. R. J. Reynolds. George Mason University’s History News Network, October 12. http://hnn.us/Pics2009/proctor/Stanford.html. Link has been removed.

  52. 52.

    Proctor, Robert. 2008. Affidavit of Dr. Robert Proctor in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Protective Order. George Mason University’s History News Network, October 12. http://hnn.us/articles/118210.html#comment. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  53. 53.

    Kean, Sam. 2009. Court Orders Stanford Expert to Surrender Manuscript. Science 326, 780–781.

  54. 54.

    Marwick, Charles. 2002. Academics Face Court Clash with Tobacco Giants. British Medical Journal 324, 257.

  55. 55.

    Wiener, Jon. 2010. Big Tobacco and the Historians. The Nation, February 15. http://www.thenation.com/article/big-tobacco-and-historians. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  56. 56.

    Wiener, as n. 55.

  57. 57.

    Wiener, as n. 55. & Arvin, as n. 51.

  58. 58.

    The Network of Concerned Historians lists the motion by the tobacco companies to access the manuscript of Proctor’s unpublished book see http://www.concernedhistorians.org/content/le.html. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  59. 59.

    Wiener, as n. 55.

  60. 60.

    Wiener, as n. 55.

  61. 61.

    Wiener, as n. 55.

  62. 62.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 26, Louis Kyriakoudes.

  63. 63.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 39, Robert Proctor.

  64. 64.

    I discussed tobacco’s legal strategies in Part III, Sect. 13.4. Tobacco Tactics in Court: Legal Game Theory, cfr. supra.

  65. 65.

    Wiener, as n. 55.

  66. 66.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 44, Michael Schaller.

  67. 67.

    Wiener, as n. 55.

  68. 68.

    Gallman, Matt. 2010. Re ‘Big Tobacco and the Historians’. The Nation, March 9. http://www.thenation.com/article/re-big-tobacco-and-historians. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  69. 69.

    Gallman, as n. 68.

  70. 70.

    Crabbe, Nathan. 2009. UF Students Caught in Middle of Tobacco Case’s Controversy. The Gainsville Sun, December 8. http://www.gainesville.com/article/20091208/ARTICLES/912081008?p=1&tc=pg. Accessed 31 Oct 2014. At my request Crabbe was not able to produce the verdict from which he quoted in his piece. Personal e-mail conversation is with the author.

  71. 71.

    Gallman, as n. 68.

  72. 72.

    Wiener, Jon. 2010. Re ‘Big Tobacco and the Historians’, Wiener Replies. The Nation, March 9. http://www.thenation.com/article/re-big-tobacco-and-historians. Accessed Oct 31 2014.

  73. 73.

    See Expert Witness Profile No. 6, John Burnham.

  74. 74.

    Burnham, John. 2010. In Defense of Historians as expert Witnesses: A Rebuttal to Jon Wiener. George Mason University’s History News Network, April 1. http://hnn.us/articles/124924.html. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  75. 75.

    Burnham, as n. 74.

  76. 76.

    Burnham, as n. 74.

  77. 77.

    See Part III, Sect. 16.3.3. Transparency, cfr. infra.

  78. 78.

    Blum, Alan. 2010. A Dissenting view of Robert Proctor by a fellow Anti-Smoking Advocate. George Mason University’s History News Network, April 25. http://hnn.us/node/125505. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  79. 79.

    Grossman, Theodore. 2010. “Smoking Gun …” The Nation, April 19. http://www.thenation.com/article/letters-337. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  80. 80.

    Wiener, Jon. 2010. Smoking Gun … Wiener Replies. The Nation, April 19. http://www.thenation.com/article/letters-337. Accessed 31 Oct 2014.

  81. 81.

    From personal correspondence with David Hollinger.

  82. 82.

    From personal correspondence with Paul Sutter.

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    Ramses Delafontaine

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Delafontaine, R. (2015). Debates: Reflections in Academic and National Media. In: Historians as Expert Judicial Witnesses in Tobacco Litigation. Studies in the History of Law and Justice, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14292-0_15

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