Tag Archives: double-edged sword

The Daily Digest, 4/13/11

Posted on April 13, 2011 by

[Note from Blog Editor Nita Farahany — I’m pleased to welcome and introduce guest contributor and author of this post, Ken Murray, Federal Public Defender in Arizona, Capital Habeas Unit] Offense Heinousness, Double-Edged Sword of Brain Damage “If the evidence … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal, Neuroscience | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Daily Digest, 4/5/11

Posted on April 5, 2011 by

After the major decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court yesterday, all bets are off on the likely success of claims for ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to introduce mitigating brain evidence at trial. The case may … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal, Neuroscience | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Daily Digest, 3/28/11

Posted on March 28, 2011 by

While objective evidence may benefit litigants who previously would have failed on their claims, the availability of objective evidence gives a “double-edge” to the “double-edge” of behavioral science evidence [as Ken Murray of the Arizona Fed. Public Defender’s Office said … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Genetics, Civil, Neuroscience | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Daily Digest, 3/23/11

Posted on March 23, 2011 by

Sometimes, even judges suffer from the “CSI” effect. The district court judge in the case today may have missed a few important days of his genetics class in high school or in college. Perhaps they didn’t teach genetics in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioral Genetics, Criminal | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

The Daily Digest – 3/7/11

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

Does brain damage mitigate criminal responsibility or punishment ? Should it count as “good” evidence about a defendant’s reasons for acting that should be balanced against “bad” reasons for his criminal conduct? In the case of Schriro v. Landrigan, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal, Neuroscience | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Daily Digest, 2/15/11

Posted on February 15, 2011 by

I’ve previously discussed how brain dysfunction may be a double-edged sword in criminal cases. Proving a criminal defendant is more impulsive than most, more likely to act irrationally, or more likely to react violently than others under stressful circumstances may … Continue reading →

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The Daily Digest – 2/4/11

Posted on February 4, 2011 by

Mitigation and Brain Dysfunction Two run of the mill brain dysfunction and mitigation to report today. Neither successful. People v. Thomas, 2011 WL 321789 (Cal. 2011) Defendant was convicted of raping and murdering an 18-year-old student, and was sentenced to … Continue reading →

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