Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-30-2012
Abstract
Recently the U.S. Supreme Court, citing neurological and psychological studies, held that because juveniles are deficient in appreciating consequences to others, they should never be given the death penalty. The author found, in his years as a legal scholar, educator, and practitioner, that “appreciating the ‘other’”--putting oneself in the position of others---is critical to law and the study of law in more than the obvious ways.
The author became aware of empirical studies and psychological experiments demonstrating that children below a certain age have trouble seeing things from another’s vantage point, and found that the facility to do so develops gradually with age, but more in some people than others.
Publication Citation
1 J. C. & Legal Sci. (2012)
Scholarly Commons Citation
Rothstein, Paul F., "The Legal Significance of the Psychological Ability to Appreciate the “Other”" (2012). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 1417.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/1417
Included in
Child Psychology Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Law and Psychology Commons