NCJ Number
101651
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 1 Issue: 1-2 Dated: (June 1986) Pages: 1-13
Date Published
1986
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This introduction to a collection of 13 papers explains how they present the perspectives of psychologists, legal scholars, and ethicists on the ethics of expert testimony by experimental psychologists.
Abstract
The papers are the product of a 1983 conference held at Johns Hopkins University. The articles clarify the major ethical questions facing the prospective expert witness, including whether the expert's role is advocate or educator, the possible unanticipated effects of the expert's testimony on jurors, and what constitutes an adequate basis for a statement by an expert witness. Alternative positions on these issues are defined and debated. The papers also discuss the fundamentals of moral reasoning and make clear the realities of interaction with a judicial system that subjects the psychologist to a variety of pressures and limitations. The papers' goal is to provide a framework within which individual psychologists can consider the issues. Footnotes, 33 references. (Author abstract modified)