STATISTICS WITHOUT SUBSTANCE - A CRITIQUE

This article critiques the views of Freedman et al. and Clark and Morrison on questions having to do with the applications of social science methodology in the law, including statistical techniques to measure racial bloc voting and techniques to estimate the Spanish-origin percentage of registered voters. It is argued that these authors misunderstand the case law in the voting rights area and have unrealistic standards of precision that, if adopted, would make it virtually impossible for minority plaintiffs to successfully prosecute a voting rights claim.