Video: Senior U.S. District Judge Examines How Neuroscience Affects the Courts
Recognizing that the understanding of the brain has raised important and unexpected implications for the development and application of legal principles, Senior U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, a founding member of the MacArthur Foundation Project on Law and Neuroscience, addressed thousands of attendees at Neuroscience 2015 in Chicago on October 17.
“Neuroscience has advanced to the point where it can make generalizations that will be, and are, important to the legal system in determining overall approaches and policy,” Rakoff said during the annual Dialogues Between Neuroscience and Society lecture.
Rakoff also discussed the legal and ethical questions raised as neuroscience enters the courtroom and affects the judicial system.
“I hope that [neuroscientists] will see that they have a responsibility to promote good neuroscience and affect public policy because it has great implications for the development of society,” he added.
The lecture was part of Neuroscience 2015, the world’s largest meeting focused on scientific discovery related to the brain and nervous system. In mid-October, more than 29,000 neuroscience researchers, clinicians, and advocates traveled to Chicago to attend the meeting, which featured more than 14,000 scientific presentations showcasing valuable new research about brain structure, health, disease, and treatments.
You won’t want to miss SfN’s next annual meeting, scheduled for November 12-16, 2016, in San Diego!
