The Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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For countless years mankind has attempted to construct different ways to detect falsehoods. Being able to detect a lie is crucial in regards to the legal system, as it would play a pivotal role in creating different opportunities for innocence and exoneration. The use of lie detection technology would assist in anti-terrorist objectives, law enforcement, and protect the innocent. It would even be capable of finding the innocence of those in penitentiaries wrongly convicted. This new neuro-inflation phenomenon has the potential to impact the lives and futures of all people. Yet, there are many issues that come with such technology. Similar to the questions raised about older lie detector technology such as the polygraph, new lie detector technology faces a slew of problems in regards to the impact it may have on self-incrimination and privacy. Before being allowed in the legal system such technology must be fully assessed ranging from its sensitivity and reliability to its accuracy and error probability. Currently such technology may not yet be ready to successfully be used in the legal courtrooms of the United State, and they should not be until they are proven to make any type of mistake.
A technology that is beginning to gain prominence in this arena is that of functional magnetic resonance imaging or FMRI. FMRI has been used in research as a way to find what specific parts of the human brain are used for lying and deception. Thus far, there have been two judicial court ruling on whether the use of FMRI as lie detector is justifiable. Many ethical issues come into play when considering the use of such technology in the courtroom, but all these issues heavily depend on the human brain itself. Of course, the human brain is one of...

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...d policies of the use of such technology must be established before the use in judicial areas. Despite these necessary areas needed to be improved upon the potential of FMRI and similar like technologies to be used as lie detectors in American courts is strong and will continue to gain popularity in law communities around the country as they become more reliable.

Works Cited
Berry, J., Ladd, S (2013). The Potential Role of fMRI in Lie Detection - ERADIMAGING.COM: RT CE. [online]
Church, D. (2011). Neuroscience in the courtroom: An international concern. Wm. & Mary L. Rev., 53, p.1825.
Lowenberg, K. (2010). fMRI Lie Detection Fails Its First Hearing on Reliability « Stanford Lawyer. [online] Stanfordlawyer.law.stanford.edu.
Willhelm, J. (2013). Detecting Deception in the Courtroom at Nimmons seminar: Pinocchio response does not exist. [online] Jaxdailyrecord.com

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