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Words are powerful - Thoughts shape - Ideas have consequences

Marc Morano

CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
Posted July 12, 2004

Edwards' Oratory Trumped Science, Critics Say
Verbal Skills or Solid Scientific Evidence?

(CNSNews.com) - As CNSNews.com reported in January, John Edward's accomplishments as a superstar trial lawyer -- which allowed him to amass a personal fortune, finance his U.S. Senate campaign and later catapult himself into the 2004 race for president -- may have been partially built on "junk science," according to legal and medical experts who spoke with CNSNews.com. On the campaign trial, Edwards pointed to one of his most lucrative legal victories as an example of how he would stand up for "the little guy" if elected president. But some of Edwards' critics say that as a trial lawyer, he relied more on his verbal skills than on solid scientific evidence to persuade juries that doctors' mistakes had caused cerebral palsy in infants. Legal expert Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of the book The Rule of Lawyers , said Edwards' success in court was due in large part to his ability to connect with jurors: "Edwards was clearly very good at managing the emotional tenor of a trial, and that turns out to be at least as important as any particular skill in the sense of researching the fine points of law," Olson told CNSNews.com. "These are the skills that you find in successful trial lawyers. They can tell a story that produces a certain emotional response. It's a gift," Olson added.

Full Story http://www.cnsnews.com/Politics/Archive/200401/POL20040120a.html

John Edwards Responds to 'Junk Science' Allegations 2/4/04

For Full Article Go To:
http://www.cnsnews.com/Culture/Archive/200402/CUL20040202a.html

John Edwards 'Increased the Cost of Medicine', Former Associate Says 2/10/04

For Full Article Go To:
http://www.cnsnews.com/Culture/Archive/200402/CUL20040210a.html

Edwards Dodges 'Junk Science' Allegations 1/28/04

For full article Go To:
http://www.cnsnews.com/Politics/Archive/200401/POL20040128d.html

Alan Caruba is a Science Writer and Journalist, and the Founder of two great media spoofs, the Boring Institute and the National Anxiety Center, founded in 1990 to debunk "scare campaigns" designed to influence public opinion and policy. Headquartered in Maplewood, NJ, it maintains an internet site at www.anxietycenter.com visited by more than a half million people every month. Formerly with the New Jersey Daily Record and the East Orange Record, Alan is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Association of Science Writers. He also is a former officer for the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Alan Caruba is the author of “Warning Signs."