Case Studies in Legal Psychology : Psychological Perspectives on Criminal Evidence

In some criminal cases, it is a difficult challenge to find out what happened. Fact finders will rely on different approaches ranging from intuitive heuristics to scientific insights. With 11 real cases, this book illustrates how professional judges evaluate criminal evidence. Moreover, the legal psychological approach to the same evidence is discussed, as the author served as a psychological expert witness in these cases. Targeted pieces of evidence and related topics include: • Eyewitness identification • Eyewitness testimony • Confession evidence • Deception • Memory flaws • Legal decision making It is a must-read for practitioners and graduate students in criminal law, forensic psychology, and legal psychology. Keywords About the Book Contents About the Author Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Fact Finding in Criminal Procedure 1.2 Legal Decision-Making Theory 1.3 Flaws and Biases in Legal Decision Making 1.4 The Legal Psychologist as Expert Witness References Chapter 2: The Armed Robbery and a Disputed Identification in a Mugshot Series 2.1 Varieties of Identification Procedures 2.2 Estimator Variables 2.3 How This Case Ended References Chapter 3: The Armed Robbery and a Disputed Identification in a Line Up 3.1 Fifty Rules for a Proper Line Up Identification Procedure 3.2 The Identification Evidence in This Case References Chapter 4: Popeye and an Obscure Mix of Identification Procedures References Chapter 5: Delayed Allegation of Sexual Assault, Repression and Psychotherapy 5.1 Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) 5.2 Recovered Memories 5.3 Clinical Versus Legal Psychology 5.4 The Alternative Hypothesis 5.5 How the Case Ended References Chapter 6: Dissociation as a State of Reduced Consciousness 6.1 Laypeople’s Strange Beliefs About Psychological Treatment 6.2 The Verdict References Chapter 7: The Tantra Therapist and the Threat of Collaborative Storytelling References Chapter 8: Magic Mumfry and the Snowball Effect 8.1 The Effect of Rumours References Chapter 9: A Shocked and Caring Community 9.1 The Information Session 9.2 Anatomically Detailed Drawings 9.3 How This Case Ended References Chapter 10: The Amnestic Murderer 10.1 Memory Enhancement 10.2 Genuine or Simulated Amnesia 10.3 A Small Battle of Forensic Experts References Chapter 11: The Breda Six 11.1 Interrogation 11.2 False Confession Experiments 11.3 Safeguards Against False Confessions 11.4 Negative Evidence 11.5 The End ... or Is it? References Chapter 12: Mister Big and a Disputed Confession 12.1 The Psychology of Confession 12.2 The Anatomy of Criminal Conviction References Chapter 13: Conclusion 13.1 Case Studies as Starting Point of Analyses 13.2 Legal Psychology as a Forensic Expertise 13.3 Hypotheses-Driven Decision Making References Index