Guest Thinkers — May 5, 2010

The Lying Brain

A Brooklyn lawyer is hoping to break new legal ground by offering a brain scan as evidence that a key witness in a civil trial is telling the truth.

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A Brooklyn lawyer is hoping to break new legal ground by offering a brain scan as evidence that a key witness in a civil trial is telling the truth. If the court allows the fMRI to be admitted, it could have a big effect on the use of neuroscience in court proceedings. The lawyer, David Levin is hoping that the brain scan will provide (as the compnay which administers it says it will) “independent, scientific validation that someone is telling the truth.” In a small number of studies, the test has been shown to be over 76 percent accurate.

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