ESPN / Associated Press is reporting an interesting court ruling in New York City. The District Court has ruled that the city is allowed to ban metal baseball bats from high school games. The judgment is not based on empirical evidence:

“…”The protection of the health and safety of high school-age students is entitled to great weight,” the judge said. “While the record does not include clear empirical evidence showing that more serious injuries would occur without the ordinance, it is the city’s legislative assessment that the risk is too great.”"

link: Judge rules in favor of NYC metal bat ban

It seems that rulings can go forward in the absence of empirical data. Fear and security concerns trump empirical scientific inquiry.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster:  http://flyinghamster.com/

[tags]baseball, schools, metal bats, security, court ruling, new york city, empirical data[/tags]