Experimental research in criminal justice settings: Is there a role for scholarly societies?

In 1997, the American Society of Criminology received a request for a frien d-of-the-court brief in support of an experimental evaluation of a court-ma ndated counseling program for domestic offenders. The experiment was oppose d by the prosecuting attorney in the jurisdiction where it was to take plac e. In this article, it is argued that scholarly societies have an obligatio n to uphold and promulgate the principle that random assignment to treatmen t options is the best scientific method for determining the effectiveness o f options such as those proposed in this case.