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Project

Enhancing decisions in the courtroom: A normative framework for judicial cognitive enhancement

Empirical research indicates that - like jurors, lawyers, and people in general - judges frequently rely on intuitive processes to make case decisions. Although this automatic way of thinking can be surprisingly accurate, it can also lead to severe and systematic errors, especially in the courtroom. Evidence shows that judicial decisions are also prone to implicit biases, such as ingroup favoring, anchoring, base rate neglect, hindsight, and racial bias. Given the high stakes in judicial decision-making not only for the parties directly affected but for society in general, the question of improving the quality of these decisions is important. Judicial review, workload reduction, adequate legal education and training are some of the methods commonly pointed out to reach this goal. Judicial decision-making involves multiple tasks, each of which use various cognitive and emotional processes to different degrees. Albeit there are a growing number of investigations exploring the possibility of applying neurotechnologies and psychopharmaceuticals to enhance cognitive function, there is virtually no research exploring the possibility of using these techniques to enhance judicial cognition. Thus, the proposed project aims at filling this gap in scientific literature. It investigates the ways in which traditional and technological cognitive enhancement could improve the quality of judicial decisions. It also analyzes the normative framework for judges to undergo cognitive enhancement, investigating whether there is a moral duty or a legal obligation to do so. As an interdisciplinary project, it will combine ethical and legal theory with elements from cognitive psychology and neuroscience.

Date:25 Jan 2021 →  Today
Keywords:neuroethics, moral enhancement, judicial behaviour, judicial enhancement, human enhancement, cognitive enhancement
Disciplines:Forensic psychology, Information law, Bioethics, Law and economics
Project type:PhD project