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Dr Hannah Wishart


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Lecturer in Law

I am a Criminal Lawyer who sits within youth justice, criminal justice, social justice, criminology, and neurolaw.

My research uses neuroscience and psychology to inform changes in criminal law doctrine and legal practice for developmentally immature children. My main focus is the engagement of these scientific insights with the law to challenge/reform practices and legislation for developmentally immature children who kill.

I completed my PhD at the University of Manchester in 2023. My PhD focused on developmentally immature children, neuroscience, and the defence of diminished responsibility. 

I have published peer-reviewed journal articles and books on the relevancy of neuroscience in youth justice, the abolition of the doctrine of doli incapax, and the unfair treatment of developmentally immature children in the English criminal justice system. In 2024, I received a British Academy/Leverhulme grant to fund a project on the police's charging decisions for young offenders. I have been awarded funding from the SLSA and UKRI policy fund. 

I also hold an PhD, LLM, LLB, and FHEA recognition. 



Teaching and supervision

I am Programme Leader for LLB (Hons Law). I am module leader for the following modules on LLB (Hons) Law and LLM Law:

  • Criminal Law (LLB, Level 1)
  • Youth and Crime (LLB, Level 2)
  • Advanced Legal Skills (LLM)

I also supervise students on the following:

  • Legal Research Project (LLM)
  • Dissertation (LLM)
  • Dissertation (LLB)

Research interests for potential research students

  • Youth Justice 
  • Criminal Law  
  • Neurolaw 

Research

My research is on the English youth justice system with a particular focus on neurolaw, homicide, doctrinal law, legal defences and adolescent brain development. 

Publications

Number of items: 13.

Article

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2018) Empowering 16 to 17 Year Olds to Vote: What is Wrong With This Picture? Criminal Law & Justice Weekly, 182. pp. 16-18.

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2018) Young Minds, Old Legal Problems: Can Neuroscience fill the Void? Young Offenders & The Age of Criminal Responsibility Bill—Promise and Perils. Journal of Criminal Law, 82. pp. 311-320.

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2017) Definition of Substantial Impairment in the New Diminished Responsibility Defence. Criminal Law & Justice Weekly, 181 (1). pp. 269-272.

Wishart, Hannah/HW and Johnston, Ed (2016) Special Issue on ‘Criminal Responsibility and Neuroscience’. European Journal of Current Legal Studies, 22 (2).

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2016) Young Minds, Old Legal Problems: Can Neuroscience fill the Void? European Journal of Legal Studies, 22 (2).

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2013) Criminal Culpability, Criminal Attempts and the Erosion of the Choice Theory. Journal of Criminal Law, 77. pp. 78-90.

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2012) Was the Abolition of the Doctrine of Doli Incapax Necessary? United Kingdom Student Law Review, 1 (2). pp. 50-63.

Reports, briefing/ working papers

Wishart, Hannah/HW and Langley, Katherine (2023) Prevent, Surveil and Protect: The Fight against terrorism in the UK’ booklet culminating in the work produced by the 1.5 symposium in 2023. Project Report. UNSPECIFIED.

Conference or Workshop Item

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2017) Mismatched Legal Distinctions, Adolescent Mens Rea and Immaturity. In: Annual School of Law PGR Conference, University of Manchester, Manchester.

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2017) Mismatched Legal Distinctions, Adolescent Mens Rea and Immaturity. In: Annual British Society of Criminology Conference, Sheffield Hallam University.

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2017) Taking Legal Assumptions about the Responsibility of Adolescents Seriously. In: Annual Socio-Legal Studies Association Conference, Newcastle University.

Wishart, Hannah/HW (2015) Neuroscience, Culpability and the Status of the Adolescent Offender. In: Montreal Neuroethics Conference for Young Researcher, Institute de Recherché Cliniques de Montreal, Canada.

Book

Wishart, Hannah/HW and Berryessa, Colleen (2023) Neurolaw in the Courtroom Comparative Perspectives on Vulnerable Defendants. Routledge Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice and Procedure, 1 . Routledge, London. ISBN 9781032362670 (In Press)

This list was generated on Fri Oct 11 00:19:58 2024 BST.
  • Homicide law
  • Neurolaw 
  • Youth Justice 
  • Criminal law 
I am a Committee Member of the International Neuroethics Society and Research Associate of the Standing Committee for Youth Justice researching issues on troubles children in law. I have previously held a research fellowship at the University of Warwick. I am currently a member of the SLSA.

Last updated 16 September 2024