Eyewitness Testimony - Psychological Research and Legal Thought (From Crime and Justice - An Annual Review of Research, Volume 3, P 105-151, 1981, Michael Tonry and Norval Morris, ed. - See NCJ-80591)

• NCJ Number: 80593
• Author(s): E F Loftus
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 47 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Commerce; National Science Foundation
• Sale Source: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Implications of psychological research for eyewitness testimony are discussed, and implications for legal proceedings are considered.

Abstract

Most psychological studies of eyewitness testimony conducted in this century are aimed at identifying factors which influence the accuracy and completeness of an eyewitness account, with emphasis on factors affecting the acquisition, retention, and retrieval of complex information. Recent studies have focused on some new issues, particularly the impact of eyewitness testimony in a legal proceeding. Research suggests that jurors give too much importance to such testimony, given the research findings on the reliability of such testimony. Realizing this, courts and defense attorneys have introduced various safeguards to protect defendants from the damaging consequences of unreliable eyewitness testimony. Some of these safeguards are (1) the right to the assistance of counsel during identification procedures, (2) the use of cautionary jury instructions, and (3) the use of expert testimony on the reliability of eyewitness accounts. Preliminary findings indicate that the use of expert psychological testimony on research findings bearing upon eyewitness accounts tends to make jurors cautious about eyewitness testimony and more likely to scrutinize its reliability. Footnotes and about 90 references are listed. (Author abstract modified)