impossibility. Such evanescent shadows of probability cannot belong to actual life. They are unimaginably less than those least things which the law cares not for. ... The coincidence which has occurred here must have had its origin in an intention to produce it. It is utterly repugnant to sound reason to attribute this coincidence to any cause but design. The court ruled that Robinson's testimony in support of Howland's signature was inadmissible as she was a party to the will, thus having a conflict of interest. The statistical evidence was not called upon in judgment. The case is one of a series of attempts to introduce mathematical reasoning into the courts. People v. Collins is a more recent example. Citations General bibliography Eggleston, Richard (1983). Evidence, Proof and Probability, Robinson v. Mandell, 20 F. Cas. 1027 (C.C.D. Mass. 1868) (No. 11,959) Menand, L. (2002). The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America, , pp. 163–176 Meier, P. & Zabell, S. (1980). "Benjamin Peirce and the Howland Will", Journal of the American Statistical Association, vol. 75, p. 497 "The Howland Will Case", American Law Review, vol. 4, p. 625 (1870) Leila Schneps and Coralie Colmez, Math on trial: How numbers get used and abused in the courtroom, Basic Books, 2013. . (Ninth chapter: "Math error number 9: choosing a wrong model. The case of Hetty Green: a battle of wills"). 1868 in United States case law Document forgery Forensic statistics