TOMORROW (3/4): The Policeman at the Elbow: The Neuroscience of Addiction, Self-Control, and Criminal Responsibility

The Policeman at the Elbow: The Neuroscience of Addiction, Self-Control, and Criminal Responsibility

drugs_freebasing_slideWednesday, March 4, 2015
12:00 PM 

Wasserstein Hall, Room 3019
Harvard Law School
1585 Massachusetts Ave.,
Cambridge, MA 02138

Do criminal penalties have any deterrent effect on drug addicts – people who already are willing to throw away their jobs, relationships, or even lives for their “fix”?  What does brain science tell us about addicts’ capacities to exert self control and to be held criminally responsible?  This panel discussion brings together a leading neuroscientist of addiction, a criminal law scholar, and a former judge to ask whether the law should reconsider aspects of responsibility and punishment in light of new science about self-control.

Panelists:

  • Joshua Buckholtz, Assistant Professor, Harvard University Department of Psychology
  • Amanda Pustilnik, Senior Fellow in Law and Applied Neuroscience, Petrie-Flom Center/Center for Law Brain and Behavior, and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law
  • Judge Nancy Gertner, Senior Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School

Part of the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience.

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff

The Petrie-Flom Center staff often posts updates, announcements, and guests posts on behalf of others.

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