Symposia

The Mind of a Child: The Relationship Between Brain Development, Cognitive Functioning, and Accountability Under the Law

March 10-11, 2005

On March 10-11, 2005, the Justice for Children Project, in conjunction with the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law and the Center for Law, Policy, and Social Science, sponsored a conference entitled The Mind of a Child: The Relationship Between Brain Development, Cognitive Functioning, and Accountability Under the Law.

Unlike other symposia, which generally have focused on social scientific explanations for juvenile behavior and crime, the interdisciplinary symposium looked to recent developments in the "hard" science of brain development and function and the implications of that research for concepts of mens rea.

The articles presented at the conference have been published in Volume 3:2 of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, and are also available online. The articles appearing in the journal are as follows:

• Katherine Hunt Federle, Introduction, 3 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 317 (2006)
• Staci A. Gruber & Deborah A. Yurgelun-Todd, Neurobiology and the Law: A Role in Juvenile Justice?, 3 Ohio St. Crim. L. 321 (2006)
• James H. Fallon, Neuroanatomical Background to Understanding the Brain of the Young Psychopath, 3 Ohio St. Crim. L. 341 (2006)
• Aliya Haider, Roper v. Simmons: The Role of the Science Brief, 3 Ohio St. Crim. L. 369 (2006)
• Deborah W. Denno, The Scientific Shortcomings of Roper v. Simmons, 3 Ohio St. Crim. L. 379 (2006)
• Stephen J. Morse, Brain Overclaim Syndrome and Criminal Responsibility: A Diagnostic Note, 3 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 397 (2006)
• Naomi Cahn, Poor Children: Child “Witches” and Child Soldiers in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 413 (2006)