ABSTRACT
Benjamin Disraeli almost certainly did not say there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics” but that there are “lies, damned lies, and experts.” In recent years, no less than in Disraeli’s own time, skepticism of experts and deference to them would seem to exist in equal proportion, and with that conflict has come both increased doubt and resigned acceptance of their professed claims to legitimacy. The present chapter reviews the history of experts who appear in courtroom proceedings, the particular bases on which they urge onlookers to accept their authority, and the implications for contesting their claim to be followed in a country that has swung to increasing disbelief in their knowledge and legitimacy alongside an increasing mistrust of other public institutions.
