November 4, 2025, 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM ET | Virtual

Register for this event here.

In Roper v. Simmons (2005), the U.S. Supreme Court barred the death penalty for crimes committed under 18, grounding its reasoning in developmental science. 

Yet Jones v. Mississippi (2021) upheld discretionary life without parole, leaving states to decide how science should inform sentencing. In the wake of Jones, courts across the country are reexamining whether these protections should extend to “emerging adults.” 

Co-sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center and the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, this presentation explores how neuroscience is reshaping state sentencing laws and includes reflections from an individual incarcerated at 20 and released under Commonwealth v. Mattis.

Panelists: 

• Moderator: Stephanie Tabashneck, PsyD, JD, Senior Fellow of Law and Applied Neuroscience, Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital and Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School; Licensed Psychologist and Attorney; and Director, CLBB Neurolaw Library

• Ernest “Nate” Benjamin released from prison in August 2025 after 30+ years of incarceration. He is currently a student at Tufts University in the Tufts Education and Reentry Network program (MyTern). Nate has many years of experience speaking with at-risk youth and training men to facilitate groups in gang prevention, violence reduction, and victim empathy.

• Andrew Charroux is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital supporting the development of the CLBB NeuroLaw Library, an open access database providing actionable neuroscience resources to be used in the judicial system. As a Keasbey Scholar, he earned his M.Phil. in History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine from the University of Cambridge.

August 29, 2025 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM EST

The Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, the Dana Foundation, and the Neurotech Justice Accelerator at Mass General Brigham are co-sponsoring an intensive 1-day virtual course for students, lawyers, and all who want to harness neuroscience to transform the law. Join Dr. Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD—Neurolaw Bootcamp Director and Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School—along with expert presenters Leah Somerville, PhD, Harvard University, Oliver Rollins, PhD, MIT, Robert Kinscherff, JD, PhD, Executive Director, MGH Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior, and Deborah Denno, JD, PhD, Fordham Law School.

Topics include Law & the Developing Brain, Neuroscience in the Courtroom, Brain-Based Lie Detection, and Critical Perspectives.

Free for students and recent graduates. Zoom registration required by August 25, 2025. Learn more and register at www.fxshen.com/neurolawbootcamp

CLBB and Petrie-Flom Center | April 8, 2025 12:20-1:20 PM EST | Harvard Law School

Watch the recording of this event here.

Adolescents—human and animal alike—take risks, challenge authority, and navigate social hierarchies as part of their development. In her book Wildhood, researcher, physician, and author Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz explores how these behaviors are biologically ingrained and essential for survival. This event will examine how evolutionary biology supports the Supreme Court’s “Children Are Different” jurisprudence, reinforcing why adolescent decision-making should be understood through science rather than punishment. Dr. Natterson-Horowitz discussed Wildhood, and Marsha Levick, Esq., Chief Legal Officer and co-founder of Juvenile Law Center, connected this groundbreaking research to legal questions around juvenile confessions, Miranda rights, and competence to stand trial.

Panelists:

Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, MD, PhD, Lecturer, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University; Lecturer, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, UCLA School of Medicine; Author, Wildhood

Marsha Levick, Esq, Chief Legal Officer and Co-founder, Juvenile Law Center

This event was organized by the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience, a collaboration between the Center for Law, Brain and Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School with support from the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund at Harvard University.

Cosponsored by the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard Kennedy School and the Youth Advocacy & Policy Lab‘s Child Advocacy Clinic at Harvard Law School.

In a recent session of the Law & Neuroscience Works in Progress Workshop, established and directed by CLBB Affiliated Faculty Francis Shen, JD, PhD, CLBB NeuroLaw Library Director Stephanie Tabashneck, PsyD, JD, CLBB Senior Research Associate and Research Librarian Kathryn Lamp, PhD, and CLBB Research Assistant Lily Reed, MA, provided an in-depth exploration of the CLBB NeuroLaw Library.

Watch the full workshop recording here.

Since its launch in June 2024, the Center’s NeuroLaw Library has offered free access to a range of AI-powered digital resources, including case law, scientific articles, policy papers, expert affidavits, amicus briefs, sample motions, and sample affidavits:

A great place to start is the Resource Library, a searchable database of case law, scientific articles, and amicus briefs involving juvenile justice. This digital library is already one of a kind, but its comprehension slider allows users to review these resources at multiple reading levels, thereby increasing accessibility. 

The Attorney Toolkit provides a snapshot of the science and the law on juvenile offenders, helping defense attorneys who represent juvenile and early adult clients quickly understand how the science of adolescent brain development is being applied to the law regarding juvenile and young adult offenders. 

The Educational Courses provide brief modules on adolescence in the legal system, focusing on topics like criminal trajectories of juvenile offenders, working with forensic experts, the science of trauma, the science of substance use, and the effects of incarceration on children and late adolescents. 

For those who would like guidance on how this collection of resources could be most helpful to them, we also offer librarian assistance via phone (select hours) and email (7 days a week) through our Ask a Librarian page.  

October 9, 2024, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EST

Watch the recording of this event here.

CLBB and the Petrie-Flom Center hosted a thought-provoking discussion on the mass incarceration of children, adolescent neuroscience, and restorative justice. Our distinguished panelists—a judge, a psychologist, and a lawyer rooted in restorative justice—shared their expertise on how we can align justice systems with science and pave the way for more humane and effective pathways forward.

Panelists:

Moderator: Stephanie Tabashneck, PsyD, JD, Senior Fellow of Law and Applied Neuroscience, Center for Law Brain and Behavior at Harvard Medical School and Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School; Licensed Psychologist and Attorney; and Director, CLBB Neurolaw Library

Honorable Nancy Gertner, JD, Senior Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School; Retired Federal Judge; Author; and Managing Director, Center for Law, Brain and Behavior, Mass General Hospital

Melissa Wood Bartholomew, JD, MDiv, MSW, PhD, Associate Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging and Lecturer on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Harvard Divinity School; and racial justice and healing practitioner

Robert Kinscherff, PhD, JD, Executive Director, Center for Law, Brain & Behavior; Associate Managing Director, Juvenile and Young Adult Justice Project, Massachusetts General Hospital; and Former Petrie-Flom Senior Fellow