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Study Weighs In On the Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony

Posted by samzenpus on from the do-you-see-that-person-here dept.

sciencehabit writes The victim peers across the courtroom, points at a man sitting next to a defense lawyer, and confidently says, "That's him!" Such moments have a powerful sway on jurors who decide the fate of thousands of people every day in criminal cases. But how reliable is eyewitness testimony? A new report concludes that the use of eyewitness accounts need tighter control, and among its recommendations is a call for a more scientific approach to how eyewitnesses identify suspects during the classic police lineup.

7 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Reader's Digest Version by stevez67 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Eyewitnesses testimony is not nearly as accurate as one would have hoped.

  2. Recommended documentary on eyewitness testamony... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "My Cousin Vinny"

  3. Humans are unreliable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    And witnesses in a courtroom setting have been counted among the most unreliable sources since, I don't know, forever.

    Not news.

  4. The whole juror system needs to be abandoned by kruach+aum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The idea that justice can be obtained by being judged by a jury of your peers is based on the hidden premise that people who are equal to you in the way in which they are your peers are capable of rendering a fair judgment upon you. This premise is false. Not only are my peers easily influenced by spurious logic, they are also susceptible to all manner of emotional manipulation, subliminal messaging and whatever else. Justice is not rendered by the level to which one of the lawyers is able to influence these factors. Nevertheless, that is exactly how a majority of cases judged by jurors are played out. Being judged by a jury of your peers may have been a good idea 300-400 years ago, but now we know better. Why doesn't the law reflect that?

    1. Re:The whole juror system needs to be abandoned by sexconker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Being judged by your peers isn't about their ability to accurately judge, avoid bias, etc. (that's what juror selection, the judge's instructions, sequestration, etc. are for).
      Being judged by your peers is about NOT being judged by a population of powerful/rich/elite fucks who absolutely have no idea what life is like for the people they are judging.

    2. Re:The whole juror system needs to be abandoned by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I knew a lawyer once that told me they try to weed out critical thinkers in the selection process. If you have an engineering or science degree they don't want you. If you have a law degree, they really don't want you.

  5. Re:Recommended documentary on eyewitness testamony by sjames · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's part of the problem. Law and court aren't supposed to be a game of "Mother May I" but it's being turned in to one. Nothing in the Constitution suggests that a magic incantation must be uttered.