As a result of the growing use of social science research and statistics in the legal process, a number of interest groups have sought an understanding of how these factors affect the outcome of judicial decisions. In this chapter, the authors present a historical overview of the judicial use of social science research and statistical data. The first section, discussing the extent social science has influenced or had a role in judicial decision-making, reviews court cases outside the field of education where social science data have received consideration. The second section concerns the evaluation of the use of statistics in the courtroom; such use has generally been limited to either demographic or comparative analyses. Demographic statistical comparisons relying on the"disparate impact" theory have been used in discrimination litigation. Statistical comparisons have been used to argue against company hiring and promotion criteria. The final section concerns the place statistics will play in the future in shaping judicial decisions and discusses areas where care must be taken to ensure against faulty conclusions. Judges are cautioned that lawyers must determine what is relevant in litigation, but scientists should determine what of the relevant is reliably known. (MLF)