Bringing Brain Science to Court
April 21, 2017
4/21/17 -San Francisco now uses an unusual approach in handling young adults charged with breaking the law, hearing their cases in a special court that the New York Times calls “a hybrid of the adult and juvenile justice systems tailored to the biology and circumstances of offenders 18 to 24.” This approach aligns with the latest scientific evidence on how the brain continues to develop well into early adulthood, with accompanying increases in “psychosocial maturity,” as explained in Issues by a leader in neuroscience whose work influenced the city’s adoption of its innovative court.