NCJ Number
180925
Journal
Judicature Volume: 83 Issue: 3 Dated: November-December 1999 Pages: 116-123
Date Published
1999
Length
8 pages
Annotation
New scientific discoveries in behavioral genetics will raise a large number of legal questions that will require careful scrutiny by the courts.
Abstract
Issues raised by research in behavioral genetics include the difficulty in defining a specific endpoint that characterizes a condition such as intelligence or schizophrenia and the strong feelings regarding the potential social and political consequences of accepting the supposed truths. The permissible societal response to legitimate discoveries in this area is a more perplexing social quandary. Alcoholism and homosexuality are examples in which a future finding of a genetic component might raise issues of societal attitudes or mandates for genetic testing or treatment. Five general principles help frame the issues of behavioral genetics and the law. First, the law has established a unitary standard for determining an individual's legal duty; this standard is the behavior of a reasonable person. Second, the adversary system requires attorneys to present all possible arguments on behalf of their clients, especially in criminal cases. Third, judges and juries have little expertise in evaluating scientific claims. Fourth, the law encourages risk-averse behavior; behavioral genetic information could lead to a wide range of risk-averse actions such as requiring medical testing or reviews of medical records prior to employment. Finally, the law has not done a good job of protecting medical privacy; behavioral genetic information would probably not receive greater privacy protection than other forms of medical or genetic information. Legislative and judicial responses to new genetic discoveries will have a major effect on whether society enters an unprecedented period of behavioral genetic determinism and, with it, social disruption, or the promised enlightened era of genetic marvels. Footnotes