Research Catalog

Title

Weather in the courtroom : memoirs from a career in forensic meteorology / William H. Haggard.

Author

Haggard, William H.

Publication

Boston, Massachusetts : American Meteorological Society, [2016]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

ix, 201 pages : some color illustrations, maps; 23 cm

Summary

"As director of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climactic Data Center in the late 1960s and early 70s, William H. Haggard witnessed an explosion in the number of requests from attorneys needing weather data for their cases. But while the Center offered data certified by the Department of Commerce that could be submitted as evidence in a court of law, government meteorologists could not be released from work to interpret this data in the courtroom. In their place, pioneering forensic meteorologists stepped in to serve as expert witnesses. For a society enthralled by courtroom drama, forensics, and natural disasters, Weather in the Courtroom is a perfect storm: an exciting inside scoop on legendary court cases where the weather may or may not have played a crucial role. Haggard explores both the meteorological facts and human stories of a variety of high-profile cases among the hundreds in which, after retiring from the government, he served as an expert witness. Were the disappearance of Alaskan Congressman Nick Begich's plane on October 16, 1972; the collapse of Tampa Bay's Skyway Bridge on May 9, 1980; and the crash of Delta Flight 191 in Dallas/Fort Worth on August 2, 1985, natural or human-caused disasters? Haggard's recounting of these and other litigations reveals just how critical the interpretation of weather and climate data in the courtroom is to our understanding of what happened and who, if anyone, is at fault." -- Provided by publisher.

Subject

• Crime and weather
• Forensic sciences
• forensic science
• SCIENCE / Earth Sciences / Meteorology & Climatology

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-192) and index.

Contents

Brown v. Jonz: the mysterious loss of two congressmen -- Nevin v. USA: the secret test that killed -- The day the Skyway fell: failure to stop and anchor -- Alicia and Tank 089: revealing oil stains -- Delta 191: "lightning out of that one" -- Lake Coamo flood: an act of God? -- White Mountain Apache Tribe v. USA: mismanagement -- Webb, Riding, and Charlesworth v. USA: whiteout at Roswell -- New England storm of July 10, 1989: Mohawk and Black Rock -- Downing v. Bowater: like driving into a marshmallow -- Palatka Paper Mill: the other side of the coin -- McNair v. USA: obstructing clouds -- APL China: Christmas overboard -- State of North Carolina v. Michael Peterson: cool by the pool -- Looking back over the years.

ISBN

• 9781940033952
• 1940033950
• 9781940033969 (ebook) (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2016032887

OCLC

• ocn944087524
• 944087524
• SCSB-1882213

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library