Assessing Causation in Breast Implant Litigation: The Role of Science Panels

In two recent cases, federal judges appointed panels of scientific experts to help assess conflicting scientific testimony regarding causation of systemic injuries by silicone gel breast implants. This article will describe the circumstances that gave rise to the appointments, the procedures followed in making the appointments and reporting to the courts, and the reactions of the participants in the proceedings

Whither Notice Pleading?: Pleading Practice in the Days Before Twombly

Most scholars mark the end of notice pleading in federal civil cases at the time of the Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly or, at the latest, at the Court’s 2009 decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal. Scholars have noted occasional departures from the notice pleading standard in more complex civil cases, but notice pleading has been thought to remain the prevalent practice in simple negligence cases. This Article examines two sets of complaints filed in federal district courts in 2006 in cases alleging injuries from simple automobile accidents. We find that notice pleading practice, as indicated by Form 11 in the Appendix of Forms that accompany the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, had already been abandoned in these routine cases before Twombly in favor of narrative pleading that provides a fuller expression of the factual context of the claim. If pleading practice did not follow the notice pleading standard before Twombly in simple negligence cases that had the benefit of specific Form 11 guidance, it is doubtful that attorneys adhered to notice pleading practice in other more complex federal civil cases. In this regard, our findings also raise doubts about the utility of Form 11. In discussing our findings, we also briefly explore the psychology of pleading and whether the emergence of narrative pleading was an unintended consequence of a series of amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure starting in the mid-1980s and intended to allow more effective judicial management of litigation. While the Twombly/Iqbal plausibility standard certainly presents a higher standard than notice pleading, the trend is clear: pleading additional facts beyond the requirements of notice pleading predated Twombly or Iqbal and lower courts had already started to abandon the notice pleading standard

Citizen Comprehension of Difficult Issues: Lessons from Civil Jury Trials

Lay participation in debates concerning public policies is a touchstone of a democracy. The Constitution enshrines this value not only by providing for a system of elected representatives, but also by recognizing the right to trial by jury. When a democratic society seeks to impose the rigors of the law on an individual, it must justify those standards to a panel of citizens and allow the austere expression of the law to become infused with the values of the community. Through this process, the vision of justice shared by members of the community informs the dialogue of adjudication. The increasing complexity of issues presented for adjudication causes some commentators to question the ability of civil juries to fulfill this traditional role. To reach a reasoned and principled judgment, lay representatives must comprehend technical information and apply the proper legal standard. In the past, concerns about the ability of laypersons to participate effectively arose in antitrust trials where civil juries encountered massive amounts of evidence and sophisticated economic arguments. Recently, similar concerns have arisen when civil juries consider technical evidence in toxic tort and product liability cases., Such concerns are likely to become more acute with the expansion of the right to trial by jury into statutory causes of action where juries consider complex questions of damages. Questions about the competence and bias of laypersons are also raised in nonjury contexts, such as in proposals to permit laypersons to participate more fully in regulatory proceedings that require an assessment of the risks and benefits to a community. We seek to address these concerns by reviewing the literature on jury competence with three purposes in mind. First, we hope to establish that, although the civil jury has some areas of vulnerability, its ability to render a reasoned and principled decision is far greater than typically acknowledged. Second, we wish to identify those areas in which laypersons encounter particular difficulties and suggest remedies to improve lay comprehension in these complex matters. Finally, we hope to draw upon research on the civil jury in assessing the potential for lay participation in regulatory proceedings. Thus, this Article aims to provide information about the civil jury\u27s functioning which may be used to evaluate the claims of proponents and opponents of lay participation in a wide range of complex legal proceedings

Prospectus, December 15, 1977

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS: SLACK ANNOUNCES FOR STATE REP., DO THE STUDENTS KNOW?; Finals schedule revised; Star Wars cashes in on Sci-Fi movie craze; Nutcracker danced by National Ballet; Pre-school kids know why they have Christmas; Close encounters of a red and green kind; What else is new: Drivers bad?; Accidents up with sales: Experts: beware of chain saw dangers; ...and speaking of chain saws: America finds new fuel...wood; U. of I. art at krannert; A Prairie Winter: \u27Whose woods these are...\u27; Carl Sandburg: 100 new poems published; Guest artist\u27s choreography entertaining, full of surprises; Bach backers have cause to rejoice; Dirty heating equipment can make your gas bill skyrocket; Physical Science Division entices hi-schoolers with freebees, rap sessions, counseling; Santa\u27s psyche probed by his errant elves; Who was that Santa I saw you with last night?; Settlers thought Illinois land was worthless; New cases for C-U city police: parent abuse; Goodbye, yellow notched card: Computerized circulation at UI Library; Humane Society still has puppies, kittens for gifts; Life doesn\u27t end at 40, either: Seniors Center fights \u27mope at home syndrome\u27; Thimbles and Threads: home-made surprises; Book review: Elvis-What Happened?; New studies of cholesterol: Eggs not villainous after all??; Warfield, Madrigals in UI holiday broadcast; Poet\u27s Corner: The Flute; Allerton Park: As the leaves fall, the people leave; Some assistants please: The Legends of Lawrenceville; Meanwhile, back in the Cobra\u27s camp...; Greatest names of golf fame ready themselves for tourney; Former Parkland student now high school assistant coach; Home run hero hits twin towns; Classifieds; Can Illinois challenge Northwestern?: Mad challenge for NCAA supremacy; Snow stalls area basketball but not for long in Illinois; Weather, Freddy bury Bob in snow; Cobras to play tough teams during break; \u27He doesn\u27t seem big to me\u27: Student has special Cowboy Additional material: Edition 3 of the Parkland literary magazinehttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1977/1000/thumbnail.jp

The added value of quantitative multi-voxel MR spectroscopy in breast magnetic resonance imaging

To determine whether quantitative multivoxel MRS improves the accuracy of MRI in the assessment of breast lesions. Twenty-five consecutive patients with 26 breast lesions a parts per thousand yen1 cm assessed as BI-RADS 3 or 4 with mammography underwent quantitative multivoxel MRS and contrast-enhanced MRI. The choline (Cho) concentration was calculated using the unsuppressed water signal as a concentration reference. ROC analysis established the diagnostic accuracy of MRI and MRS in the assessment of breast lesions. Respective Cho concentrations in 26 breast lesions re-classified by MRI as BI-RADS 2 (n = 5), 3 (n = 8), 4 (n = 5) and 5 (n = 8) were 1.16 +/- 0.43 (mean +/- SD), 1.43 +/- 0.47, 2.98 +/- 2.15 and 4.94 +/- 3.10 mM. Two BI-RADS 3 lesions and all BI-RADS 4 and 5 lesions were malignant on histopathology and had Cho concentrations between 1.7 and 11.8 mM (4.03 +/- 2.72 SD), which were significantly higher (P = 0.01) than that in the 11 benign lesions (0.4-1.5 mM; 1.19 +/- 0.33 SD). Furthermore, Cho concentrations in the benign and malignant breast lesions in BI-RADS 3 category differed (P = 0.01). The accuracy of combined multivoxel MRS/breast MRI BI-RADS re-classification (AUC = 1.00) exceeded that of MRI alone (AUC = 0.96 +/- 0.03). These preliminary data indicate that multivoxel MRS improves the accuracy of MRI when using a Cho concentration cut-off a parts per thousand currency sign1.5 mM for benign lesions. Key Points aEuro cent Quantitative multivoxel MR spectroscopy can improve the accuracy of contrast-enhanced breast MRI. aEuro cent Multivoxel-MRS can differentiate breast lesions by using the highest Cho-concentration. aEuro cent Multivoxel-MRS can exclude patients with benign breast lesions from further invasive diagnostic procedures