David H. Kaye
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Distinguished Professor of Law, Emeritus
Forensic Science, Statistics, and the Law (an ACI scholarly blog) Education |
617-682-0013About Kaye
Before joining the Penn State Law faculty, Professor Kaye was Regents’ Professor of Law and of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. He has held visiting teaching or research appointments at Cornell University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, University of Virginia, and Yale University. Internationally, he has taught in England and China.
Professor Kaye also worked as an Assistant Special Prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, an associate in a private law firm in Portland, Oregon, and a law clerk to Judge Alfred T. Goodwin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He holds degrees in law (Yale University), astronomy (Harvard University), and physics (MIT).
Professor Kaye’s research focuses on evidence, criminal procedure, the use of science and statistics in litigation, and on genetics and the law. He has served on committees or advisory panels of the American Statistical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Commission on Forensic Science, the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Organization of Scientific Area Committees in Forensic Science, and the International Conferences on Forensic Inference and Statistics. His research has been funded by the American Bar Foundation, the Department of Commerce (NIST), the Department of Energy (Human Genome Project), and the Department of Justice (NIJ).
Professor Kaye has been on the editorial boards of four academic journals and has repeatedly served as editor of the American Bar Association publication, Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science, and Technology. His publications include 12 books, 17 book chapters, and over 180 articles and letters in journals of law, philosophy, psychology, medicine, genetics, and statistics. He is a recipient of the Association of American Law Schools’ Wigmore Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the law of evidence.
In addition to pursuing these academic and professional interests, Professor Kaye has taught Aikido at Penn State, led guided tours for trekking companies, and participated in first ascents in Alaska and China.
Publications
Selected Books
- The New Wigmore, A Treatise on Evidence: Expert Evidence (3d ed. 2021) (with David E. Bernstein, Andrew Ferguson, Jennifer L. Mnookin, & Maggie Wittlin)
- Handbook of Forensic Statistics (with David L. Banks, Karen L. Kafadar, & Maria Tackett eds., 2021)
- McCormick on Evidence (3rd through 8th eds. 1984-2020) Thomson Reuters (with co-authors)
- The Double Helix and the Law of Evidence (2010) Harvard University Press
- Editor, Latent Print Examination and Human Factors: Improving the Practice Through a Systems Approach (2012) National Institute of Standards and Technology
- Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony (1st through 4th eds. 1997-2006) (with D. Faigman et al.)
- Prove It with Figures: Empirical Methods in Law and Litigation (1997) (with H. Zeisel) (translated into Chinese and Japanese)
News
Professor Kinports joins Professor Kaye as co-author of McCormick on Evidence
Prof. Kaye spoke at 29th Congress of the ISFG in D.C. on developments in fore...
Professor Emeritus David Kaye discusses science in U.S. criminal justice for ...
Professor Kaye weighs in on DNA databases and privacy concerns
Two Penn State Law in University Park Professors win AALS awards
Kaye addresses problems in evidence rules for U.S. Judicial Conference Rules Advisory Committee
Kaye discusses forensic statistics for the National Association of Attorneys General
Professor Kaye to speak on DNA evidence at D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference
The American Bar Association has granted conditional approval for Penn State Dickinson Law and Penn State Law to reunify and operate as Penn State University’s single law school under the name Penn State Dickinson Law with locations in Carlisle and University Park. Danielle M. Conway is the dean of the unified Penn State Dickinson Law, which will enroll a unified class in fall 2025.