Stephen Morse: ‘NeuroLaw’ - Neuroscience and Criminal Law

The facts that all human behaviors are controlled by the brain and that all crimes involve behaviors beg the question of if and how advances in neuroscience might improve the criminal justice system. Professor Stephen Morse at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Center for Neuroscience and Society on problems of individual responsibility and agency. He is a pioneer on research at the interface of the law and neuroscience. In this episode Morse provides an historical perspective on NeuroLaw with examples of specific cases in which brain imaging data have been used as evidence as to a defendant’s mental state and responsibility. We also talk about psychopathy and drug addiction as predisposing factors in criminal behaviors and responsibility. Having been immersed in NeuroLaw for many decades, Morse concludes that substantive contributions of neuroscience to the law are very limited, but that this may change with future developments in the science.

LINKS:

Professor Morse at Penn Law: https://www.law.upenn.edu/faculty/smorse/

Law and Neuroscience: report of the President’s Bioethics Commission:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5033539/pdf/lsu012.pdf

 NeuroLaw: Challenges and Limits:

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/276230/1-s2.0-C20190004591/1-s2.0-B9780128213759000037/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEBwaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQDs%2F4PvoOovmb4J3nRy%2BIWJJm53ySCmeZ1m98ssPst45QIgf68T%2BYxRptjPz7G9wOXSA%2BgsesoxqkneG7dp4pZVtA8qswUIRRAFGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDGYAnlyiJhDC0fbDyiqQBUvl9RpbUHDEK7euZ3es2RO64UC3nA5dgPifofNG%2FA%2BxoTNlLLZo51v7RcON%2BWsZ0u7iASLCW08cEEABDRqOTrEpKYsbrf6PoMBXd9wYQbxs43YFjfZZa4VbkT594rQd9iR2%2B%2F4LHLRXi0hQVn4k2fGyQ%2Banl9L03kitshZpykjS8XAcEVPYRKWCZg6Jzpq6IMc2yAJ2kdNjKQbi%2BeBFSCVU3RQFkrBdpG7Bo1gFZfF8rL%2FLUwl0%2B2hb9N8jgzNzzni3WN7e3ughQcEh82%2Bg%2FaYT1FT83YIaYpnOjNIV%2BjgcKJWZ82D841CDSANw%2BPjLV6x7uZUqD9C2zhebrq0K4q8y4ylDGzamDM%2BqXgMHvp1vrB8%2FIWr4y17HN26XYw59MAXBNgCzbv0S45KRxvj%2FzTFTmf7h9RZbDfUVxJHoB3YtL4KsRzcuhT8UCsDcRW%2FosHx%2Bku8zfW3%2F4PvGsKbxWx%2BL7N1unXsjNZO8a5bCM4ABOMiJJMu6%2FYPfuqQ1TJn7hZLlHOqfmGineCO8UfSL%2BTu6n3gltTjBNJH0uOWZVi4Op6cU1Mmz223kWufye49wTyvWM8vHnvpidlL3h6Wrq1cxeycWFtBqHhrPrFbuOuykZdH12LEVCzTr6rDwVwPe8ZXQE%2Fp1t8hq6DqBBTqC%2BPfIUdlwRCKbeh6d0HGZJzvvVkd6AzfoZ8UkNZh1iBFvdmpPwSfRln6cIFD7RKnDTYaR8%2B8B5VxG0br75rKSYdn54zVE8PwtuPvq1uiseUcIwmJ%2BXhj2qZSXFP664Gi5dFsAK8MDUZD80TSKuj7EGvkXs9VbaL05OhDVnG9cl31JyNejWwKCKG%2BeFBPuIBD8kEHwGqxeFpojNqx1nlu8d1IvMPDX3qkGOrEB6XtS6d8NeOPl5NkCEZAOurR09k3ffY0%2BIjvh8lXHuXbrRL8mKfvFCxgR%2F81i%2F6c4VwWzRgloQVEOnjcwMpFtCkPCztkuqPcEfwas0Jl7Bwc3VapJTITwmXu2DY3rF6zHlz5sKWg50bWup7JCODKOc3FUKQD5vfYUk2RpkZP5uHsxbi0OBd7pIeeP2PCWjGbZ7vxB1GnPgy8V%2F0WmKPaeT0rtsef4vCzR5BlWB1yrMhGW&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20231024T125857Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY2UJW5E5N%2F20231024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=99ad1749a56b56597d9dbad545cd01d5715f58e79851a16c9558d80fe1ade2bf&hash=525472894c4bf63126822c9f34d8803fa325777ca4e8c7082ac033a0d30af25b&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=B9780128213759000037&tid=spdf-04e98b0c-1706-4bb3-b6b4-3a98d2aa235f&sid=aa84f1e132a57745745831c5ff1dcd2ff1c2gxrqa&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LXNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QtY29tLnByb3h5MS5saWJyYXJ5LmpodS5lZHU%3D&ua=0f105b50045d58500107&rr=81b264ee3cc08c57&cc=us