Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers continues his captivating series for NLJ, this time exploring how emerging neurotechnology may revolutionise coronial law. With devices like Apple’s EEG-enabled AirPods and Meta’s Neural Band capturing brain activity, Lambert argues coroners could soon analyse neural data to determine cause, intent, and timing of death
He charts a historical arc—from medieval inquests to modern digital forensics—showing how coronial inquiry has always evolved alongside science.
Potential applications include detecting suicidal intent, distinguishing drug-induced from natural deaths, clarifying cause-versus-consequence events, and differentiating SIDS from suffocation. Neural data could also pinpoint time of death with unprecedented precision.
Lambert acknowledges the ethical and privacy challenges but envisions a near future where neural readings become standard forensic evidence—enhancing justice, accuracy, and compassion in determining how and why people die.
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