How Courts in Criminal Cases Respond to Childhood Trauma (original) (raw)
Related papers
Child & Youth Care Forum, 2011
The legal files of 144 juveniles charged as adults in one Pennsylvania county were reviewed to investigate whether trauma-related information was included in evaluations of amenability to treatment and how that information related to legal decisions to keep youth in criminal court or decertify them to the juvenile system. Potentially traumatic experiences (PTEs) were noted in more than 71% of evaluations. Youth with any PTE documented were more likely to remain in criminal court, have more prior arrests, report regular marijuana use, and have mental health diagnoses associated with offending behaviors. Youth with direct (versus witnessed) exposure to PTEs were more likely to have been placed out of home and to be diagnosed with other mental health disorders. However, only 6% of the evaluations specifically recommended treatment for trauma-related issues, and documentation of PTEs was not associated with the ultimate legal decision except in cases involving severe injury.
Biology, childhood trauma, and murder: Rethinking justice
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2006
This article reviews recent findings in the developmental neurophysiology of children subjected to psychological trauma. Studies link extreme neglect and abuse with long-term changes in the nervous and endocrine systems. A growing body of research literature indicates that individuals with severe trauma histories are at higher risk of behaving violently than those without such histories. This article links these two research areas by discussing how severe and protracted child abuse and/or neglect can lead to biological changes, putting these individuals at greater risk for committing homicide and other forms of violence than those without child maltreatment histories. The implications of these biological findings for forensic evaluations are discussed. Based on new understanding of the effects of child maltreatment, the authors invite law and mental health professionals to rethink their notions of justice and offender accountability, and they challenge policymakers to allocate funds for research into effective treatment and for service delivery.
Brain Injury, 2018
Primary objective: To identify correlates of past traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a population of young offenders. Research design: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on available data from a sample derived from the NSW Young People on Community Orders Health Survey. Procedures: Study participants were administered questionnaires to collect history relating to past TBI, childhood trauma, substance abuse, and psychological/psychiatric symptoms and underwent assessments of intellectual functioning. Information on offending history was accessed through Juvenile Justice administrative records. Outcomes and results: Analyses were undertaken on data from 788 young offenders (672 males and 116 females). A past TBI was reported in 39%. Symptoms of psychological distress were more prevalent in females. A history of TBI was associated with more symptoms on a Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, as well as higher psychological distress (K-10), and higher levels on standardized measures of anger/violence, posttraumatic stress, and substance abuse. Conclusions: The experience of early life trauma warrants further consideration as an antecedent to both childhood TBI and offending which might account for some of the previously observed association of mild TBI with subsequent offending behavior.
Frontiers in Public Health, 2014
There is substantial evidence indicating that children who witness domestic violence (DV) have psychosocial maladaptation that is associated with demonstrable changes in the anatomic and physiological make up of their central nervous system. Individuals with these changes do not function well in society and present communities with serious medical, sociological, and economic dilemmas. In this focused perspective, we discuss the psychosocially induced biological alterations (midbrain, cerebral cortex, limbic system, corpus callosum, cerebellum, and the hypothalamic, pituitary, and adrenal axis) that are related to maladaptation (especially post-traumatic stress disorder) in the context of child-witnessed DV, and provide evidence for these physical alterations to the brain. Herein, we hope to stimulate the necessary political discourse to encourage legal systems around the world to make the act of DV in the presence of a child, including a first time act, a stand-alone felony.
2020
There is a robust body of evidence that tells us that the juvenile brain is not fully developed by age 18, and this evidence should and does raise important questions about the sentencing of juveniles in criminal cases. This evidence, though, must be considered in the context of public opinion (about certain juvenile crimes that have been subject to saturation publicity) in the context of judges’ decisionmaking (where such judges do not want to be perceived as “soft on crime”). The conflict between what we now know and what (false) “ordinary common sense” demands (in the way of enhanced punishments) flies squarely in the face of therapeutic jurisprudence precepts. If the legal process is to seek to maximize psychological well-being and if it is to coincide with an “ethic of care,” then, it is necessary for those involved in the criminal justice system to speak publicly about this topic, and to “call out” those – be they elected politicians, editorial writers and commentators in the ...
Family Court Review
There is a robust body of evidence that tells us that the juvenile brain is not fully developed by age 18, and this evidence should and does raise important questions about the sentencing of juveniles in criminal cases. This evidence, though, must be considered in the context of public opinion (about certain juvenile crimes that have been subject to saturation publicity) in the context of judges' decisionmaking (where such judges do not want to be perceived as “soft on crime”). The conflict between what we now know and what (false) “ordinary common sense” demands (in the way of enhanced punishments) flies squarely in the face of therapeutic jurisprudence precepts. If the legal process is to seek to maximize psychological well‐being and if it is to coincide with an “ethic of care,” then, it is necessary for those involved in the criminal justice system to speak publicly about this topic, and to “call out” those – be they elected politicians, editorial writers and commentators in ...
THE MYTH OF THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF NEUROSCIENCE EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL CASES
Boston College Law Review, 2015
This Article presents the results of my unique study of 800 criminal cases addressing neuroscience evidence over the past two decades (1992–2012). Many legal scholars have theorized about the impact of neuroscience evidence on the criminal law, but this is the first empirical study of its kind to systematically investigate how courts assess the mitigating and aggravating strength of such evidence. My analysis reveals that neuroscience evidence is usually offered to mitigate punishments in the way that traditional criminal law has always allowed, especially in the penalty phase of death penalty trials. This finding controverts the popular image of neuroscience evidence as a double-edged sword—one that will either get defendants off the hook altogether or unfairly brand them as posing a future danger to society. To the contrary, my study indicates that neuroscience evidence is typically introduced for a well-established legal purpose—to provide fact-finders with more complete, reliable, and precise information when determining a defendant’s fate. My study also shows that courts accept neuroscience evidence for this purpose, and in fact expect attorneys to raise this evidence when possible on behalf of their clients. This expectation is so entrenched that courts are willing to grant defendants their “ineffective assistance of counsel” claims when attorneys fail to pursue this mitigating evidence. Meanwhile, my study also reveals that the potential future danger posed by defendants is rarely a facet of cases involving neuroscience evidence—again contradicting the myth of the double-edged sword. The cases that do address future danger, however, offer fascinating insight into the complex legal issues raised by neuroscience evidence. As courts continue to embrace neuroscience tools and techniques, the empirical data collected in my study provide a foundation for discussions regarding the use of neuroscience evidence in criminal cases. The findings presented in this Article will ensure that those discussions are grounded in fact rather than hyperbole. Key words: neuroscience, criminal law, death penalty, ineffective assistance of counsel, double-edged sword, future dangerousness, Supreme Court, mitigating evidence, aggravating evidence, longitudinal research, empirical study, punishment, MRI, fMRI, PET scan, QEEG, mental retardation, brain injury, frontal lobe damage