2014 ANNUAL MEETING
Washington DC

1:30 - 3:30 p.m., Thursday, November 14

Neuroscience in the Courts – International Case Studies

Neuroscience raises fundamental questions about the way legal systems attribute responsibility and blame. Despite widespread interest there has been little research into the extent neuroscience actually appears in court. The speakers have adopted similar methodologies, replicating Professor Nita Farahany's approach in the USA, to assess the extent and ways in which defendants are using such evidence in criminal cases in five countries and the success or otherwise of the use of such evidence.

A decade ago Greene and Cohen suggested that "for the law, neuroscience changes nothing and everything. "Yet in the last ten years, whilst legal systems have not, so far, been radically overhauled, neuroscience has increasingly appeared in courtrooms. Neuroscience retains the capability to challenge deep seated legal understanding of agency, responsibility, capacity and memory — concepts which are at the core of our legal systems — the long term impact is still unclear. This session will particularly consider court findings in relation to juveniles and adolescents

Moderator

Lisa Claydon
University of the West of England, Law

Presenters

Nita Farahany
Director, Science & Society, Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy USA
"The use of neuroscientific evidence by defendants in criminal trials in The United States of America 2000-2012"

Paul Catley
Senior Lecturer in Law at the Open University, UK
"The use of neuroscientific evidence by defendants in criminal trials in England and Wales 2000-2012"

Jennifer Chandler
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
"The use of neuroscientific evidence by defendants in criminal trials in Canada 2000-2012"

Katy de Kogel
Research and Documentation Centre Ministry of Justice, Netherlands
"The use of neuroscientific evidence by defendants in criminal trials in the Netherlands 2000-2012"

Calvin Ho
Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore
"The use of neuroscientific evidence by defendants in criminal trials in Singapore and Malaysia 2000-2012"