Where We Are Now

Abstract This chapter briefly reviews the kinds of legal questions neuroscience will be asked to answer. It also surveys the domains of law where neuroscience is already being used and the resources available to guide learning in this new intersection of fields. It summarizes the rapid growth of forensic neuroscience, both quantitatively (e.g., the number of cases in which neuroscience evidence has been offered into evidence) and qualitatively (in terms of the speed with which new neuroscience technologies have found their way into the law in different domains). It organizes its survey into the three substantive categories of civil, criminal, and administrative law, looking at three different domains in each category: reported case law, regulations, and legislation. In the civil law category, it examines how neuroscientific evidence is being used in torts, contracts, constitutional law, health law, family law, and probate. In the criminal law category, it examines how neuroscientific evidence is being used in the assessment of a defendant’s mental state, on excuse-based defenses like insanity, and on criminal sentencing. In the administrative law category, it touches on how neuroscience is being used in the claims processes of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security disability, and workers’ compensation.