How Can So Many Be Wrong?: Making the Due Process Case for an Eyewitness Expert
Of the 347 U.S. false criminal convictions overturned so far through DNA testing, 73 percent were based on erroneous eyewitness testimony. How could so many eyewitnesses be wrong? This book answers this question. The analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court eyewitness cases shows that most of the Court’s holdings were likely in error. The Court—like the judges and juries in the courts below—greatly overestimated the reliability of eyewitnesses against the defendants and decided their convictions based on unsound evidence. The facts of the cases and personalities of the defendants are engaging and compelling. An expert is needed to inform the judge and the jury of the circumstances to consider when weighing the testimony of the witness against the facts of the case. It is a clear violation of Due Process to deny the defendant the provision of an expert witness in all cases where the eyewitness testimony lacks corroboration. Research assessing both cross-examination and jury instructions makes it abundantly clear that neither can effectively provide courts with the counterintuitive information necessary to evaluate eyewitness reliability: denial of an expert is denial of Due Process.

1130281666
How Can So Many Be Wrong?: Making the Due Process Case for an Eyewitness Expert
Of the 347 U.S. false criminal convictions overturned so far through DNA testing, 73 percent were based on erroneous eyewitness testimony. How could so many eyewitnesses be wrong? This book answers this question. The analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court eyewitness cases shows that most of the Court’s holdings were likely in error. The Court—like the judges and juries in the courts below—greatly overestimated the reliability of eyewitnesses against the defendants and decided their convictions based on unsound evidence. The facts of the cases and personalities of the defendants are engaging and compelling. An expert is needed to inform the judge and the jury of the circumstances to consider when weighing the testimony of the witness against the facts of the case. It is a clear violation of Due Process to deny the defendant the provision of an expert witness in all cases where the eyewitness testimony lacks corroboration. Research assessing both cross-examination and jury instructions makes it abundantly clear that neither can effectively provide courts with the counterintuitive information necessary to evaluate eyewitness reliability: denial of an expert is denial of Due Process.

123.0 In Stock
How Can So Many Be Wrong?: Making the Due Process Case for an Eyewitness Expert

How Can So Many Be Wrong?: Making the Due Process Case for an Eyewitness Expert

How Can So Many Be Wrong?: Making the Due Process Case for an Eyewitness Expert

How Can So Many Be Wrong?: Making the Due Process Case for an Eyewitness Expert

Hardcover

$123.00 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    Qualifies for Free Shipping
  • PICK UP IN STORE
    Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Related collections and offers


Overview

Of the 347 U.S. false criminal convictions overturned so far through DNA testing, 73 percent were based on erroneous eyewitness testimony. How could so many eyewitnesses be wrong? This book answers this question. The analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court eyewitness cases shows that most of the Court’s holdings were likely in error. The Court—like the judges and juries in the courts below—greatly overestimated the reliability of eyewitnesses against the defendants and decided their convictions based on unsound evidence. The facts of the cases and personalities of the defendants are engaging and compelling. An expert is needed to inform the judge and the jury of the circumstances to consider when weighing the testimony of the witness against the facts of the case. It is a clear violation of Due Process to deny the defendant the provision of an expert witness in all cases where the eyewitness testimony lacks corroboration. Research assessing both cross-examination and jury instructions makes it abundantly clear that neither can effectively provide courts with the counterintuitive information necessary to evaluate eyewitness reliability: denial of an expert is denial of Due Process.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781498579872
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication date: 04/04/2019
Pages: 246
Product dimensions: 6.28(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Margaret A. Hagen is professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University.



Sou Hee Yang holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Experts In Eyewitness Cases…And The Alternatives

Chapter 2 What The Triers Of Fact Must Understand

Chapter 3 Supreme Court As Psychologists…Blinded to Science

Chapter 4 Attorneys as Psychologists: Perry v. New Hampshire

Chapter 5 Jurors as Psychologists

Chapter 6 Psychologists as Psychologists: Expert Testimony to Rectify Deficits in Jury Knowledge

Chapter 7 How to Make Expert Testimony Most Effective

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews