Genomic research will eventually uncover a complete picture of how our genetic information, acting in concert with our experiences, influences our behavior, our risk for disease, and our responsiveness to medical treatments. These are all subjects of great academic and personal interest, but what happens when they are connected to a question of legality? When considering whether an individual’s genetic inheritance can be blamed for criminal behavior, or how information on disease predisposition should be used, who is qualified to testify, and what kinds of knowledge are needed to make sound judicial decisions?
The Supreme Court of Illinois and its Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, in coordination with members of the Illinois Judicial Conference Committee on Education, appointed by the Supreme Court, are responsible for facilitating educational resources for Illinois judges, including those pertaining to sciences in the law. The Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) at the University of Illinois had the unique opportunity to work with the AOIC in offering a new seminar, “Genomics for(TM) Judges,” that was designed to prepare judges to grapple with legal questions involving DNA sequencing and analysis, as well as related technologies, in the courts today and in the future.
Tags: genomics