Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging to Probe Mental Status in Legal Cases: Ethical Concerns and Lessons Learned from Other Biotechnologies

摘要

In his article "Neuroimaging, Expert Witnesses, and Ethics: Convergence and Conflict in the Courtroom," Leonard Berlin (2014) effectively describes the current limitations of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in diagnosing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the subsequent concerns about the use of DTI in court cases. While many of Berlin's concerns are warranted, the rapid pace of progress in science at least presents the possibility that DTI and DTI tractography may one day have a scientifically valid and relevant place in the law for a variety of purposes. With this possibility in mind, it is fitting to examine concerns that have arisen with the use of other biotechnologies in court cases, and see whether lessons can be learned that apply to the hypothetical use of DTI in the legal system to probe the mental status of persons convicted of a crime, with "mental status" meaning the presence or absence of legally relevant impairments in moral decision making.