Exam 3- Chapters 6, 7, and 10

What is the cognitive interview?

A step by step process meant to relax the witness and reinstate memory of the context surrounding the crime. This process is meant to improve memory retrieval and avoid suggestibility.

APLS Recommendation #4: The Use of Proper Lineup Fillers

"Fillers" are people other than the suspect that are in the lineup. In order for a lineup to be successful, a filler must not make the suspect stand out and should all resemble each other. The belief is that if 2/12 people can pick the suspect based solely on a verbal description, then the lineup is biased.

What are memory traces?

A biochemical neural pathway of experience that often deteriorates with time and is highly vulnerable to distortion or corruption.

What were the details of the Ingram case?

A man named Paul Ingram falsely recovered memories of being a sexual abuser to his children after denying the charges. Ingram was forced to believe the accusation after repeated questioning and hypnosis.

How was Ronald Cotton exonerated?

A man named Richard Rosen eventually took the case and found a semen sample that matched with Bobby Poole. Despite being exonerated, Cotton still suffered from trauma during his years in jail and tarnished image.

What is the Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scale (R-CAS)?

A method of evaluating insanity based on an in depth interview with the defendant that qualifies insanity into malingering, organicity (brain disorder), a major psychiatric disorder, loss of cognitive control, and loss of behavioral control into quantitative numbers and scales. The method has high reliability in its agreement with court rulings.

What is the MSE (Mental State at the time of the offense screening)?

A method used to evaluate insanity that simply detects if a mental defect is present.

What is hypnosis?

A practice proposed by Franz Mesmer that is meant to enhance the memories of victims by putting them in a relaxed and focused state. Once in this state, the victim is instructed to remember the crime scene and zoom in on important details.

What is the "good from evil" test?

A procedure used in 14th-16th century England to determine insanity based on if the defendant could differentiate good and evil.

What is memory?

A process that involves the encoding (gathering), storage (holding), and retrieval (accessing) of information.

What was the "Twinkie Defense"?

A sensational trial in which Dan White shot and killed Mayor Harvey Milk. White argued that his consumption of junk food diminished his capacity, and was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder.

What is the NICHD Investigative revised protocol?

A set of procedures enacted to keep away from suggestive questioning and elicit true responses. The method uses open ended questions and follow up prompts to steer away from an assumption of guilt.

What is the difference between simultaneous and sequential lineups?

A simultaneous lineup involves the victim looking at several people or photographs side by side and then selecting which one is the perpetrator. A sequential lineup is where looks at each suspect one by one until they decide on the perpetrator.

What was the "Lost at the Mall" study?

A study implemented by Elizabeth Loftus in which she asked participants to remember 4 childhood memories, 3 being true and 1 being false. The false event involved being at a mall, in which 25% of participants remembered elaborate details of the event.

Why does confidence increase over time?

A victim's confidence increases from initial identification to trial as they begin to memorize the facial features of the photograph they identified and use that to pick a person out of a lineup. Once that person is picked, then details are filled in to connect the suspect with the crime.

What are some statistics regarding child abuse?

Abuse is reported in 7-18% of boys and 18-21% of girls.

What is the Durham standard?

After Monte Durham was found guilty for breaking and entering an apartment, the judge refused for him to plead insanity despite several psychiatric visits and mental conditions. The Durham standard was established as a "product test" in which insanity could be plead if the action was the product of a mental disease or defect.

What was the result of the Ingram case?

After Richard Ofshe, an investigator took the case, it was revealed that this false allegation was due to Ingram's suggestible thinking and difficulty in determining real from fabricated memories. Despite no physical evidence connecting him to the crimes, Ingram was sent to jail for 12 years.

Why was Andrea Yates awarded a second trial?

After it was revealed that a faulty testimony regarding a Law and Order episode was given, a second trial was ordered. In the second trial, Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Yates was then transferred to a secure mental health facility.

What is hearsay testimony?

Allowed in some states for child abuse cases, the state permits a parent or teacher to testify about what the child said regarding the crime. This testimony is often more credible and detailed.

What is the policeman at the elbow test?

An addition to the irresistible impulse test that suggested the impulse must be so overwhelming that the behavior would still be done even with a police officer standing besides the perpetrator.

What happened in the McMartin case?

Both Peggy and Ray Buckey were found guilty of 207 counts of child molestation including accusations of robbing graves and molesting children in a hot air ballon.

What are some issues with child eyewitness identification?

Children often provide less accurate information and are impacted by stressing interview styles. They also feel like they must provide an answer rather than answering truthfully.

What happened during the trial of Ronald Cotton?

Cotton was put on trial for rape despite limited physical evidence. However, Thompson assured jurors this was the man who raped her. While serving his initial sentence, a man named Bobby Poole admitted his involvement, but later denied this in court. Cotton would serve another eight years in prison.

What is the M'Naghten case?

Daniel M'Naghten set out to kill the prime minister of England, but by mistake he killed the secretary. Queen Victoria demanded harsher punishment after M'Naghten was ruled not guilty by insanity.

Is there evidence for the repression hypothesis?

Despite 60 years of research, there is no controlled lab evidence supporting the concept and many memories are planted during therapy. Instead, memories are not repressed but find their way into consciousness through uncontrolled remembering.

How can confidence be misleading?

Due to its changing nature, confidence must be measured at the initial identification. However, it is not correlated with accuracy and can be misleading due to poorly constructed lineups or bias.

How can memory be deceiving during a crime scene?

Even under the best of circumstances, the human mind can not encode every piece of information. During a crime scene, victims are often more concerned with safety rather than getting an accurate look at the perpetrator. Criminals are always prone to changing their appearance, thus deceiving the victim.

Why is expert testimony useful when considering eyewitness testimony?

Experts can determine the reliability of the testimony based on conditions of the crime and interview. This can lead to jurors either putting more or less weight into the evidence.

How have cameras and computers been used to replace eyewitness testimony?

Facial recognition technology (FRT) can be used to create a unique geometric map of an individual. However, this can be prone to error due to disguise or facial altering.

Why is the legal system resistant to change of eyewitness policy?

Growing belief that there is nothing wrong and that change will only slow down the process. They do not want the court flooded with appeals and are not willing to provide the proper training to police officers.

What happened in the case of John Hinckley Jr.?

Hinckley Jr.'s fascination with actress Jodi Foster lead to an assignation attempt on President Ronal Reagan. Hinckley was said to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

What are the five criteria to evaluate the accuracy of recovered memories?

If the memory was recovered over time using suggestive techniques, if the memory started as a vague assumption, if the memory features rare forms of abuse such as satanic rituals, if the memory occurred before the age of 3, and if the memory developed into adolescence.

What is an example of the use of a diminished capacity/mens rea defense?

In 2008, a man named James Khaler who suffered from OCD and depression killed his wide and teenage daughters after a bitter divorce. The state of Kansas did not allow for an insanity defense, so Khaler used the diminished capacity argument saying that he did not have the mental ability to kill. The Supreme Court held the ruling of guilt, saying that not having an insanity defense was constitutional and mens rea could meet the requirement.

Does stress create accurate memories?

In a study by Charles Morgan examining the impact of high stress, he trained 509 soldiers with a POW experience. In a mock interrogation, Morgan included a high stress condition that included a physical confrontation. This led to a 58% rate of wrongful identification.

What was some follow up research to Loftus' findings?

In another study, 27% of participants falsely remembered ruining a wedding after spilling a punch bowl on the parents of the bride. This showcased that visual imagery and faulty therapeutic techniques can allow for the production of false memories.

How did Loftus' study showcase that leading comments can impact memory?

In her study, Loftus showed participants a car crash and asked them to calculate the speed. When using the word "contact" to describe the incident, the average speed described was 31 MPH, while the word "smashed" led to an average speed described of 40 MPH.

What is closed circuit television?

In the case of Maryland V Craig, it was held that CCTV can be used in which the child is in another room to give their testimony. This often reduces emotional distress and leads to accurate testimony, despite appearing less confident and credible.

What are the steps of the cognitive interview?

In the first phase, the patient is told to relax and the therapist builds rapport. In the second phase, the patient tells what happened and gives context of the crime scene. In the third phase, the patient gives the crime scene in a different order. In the fourth stage, the patient describes the scene from different perspectives. Lastly, the therapist reads back the information and collects any additional detail.

What happened to Andrea Yates?

In the summer of 2001, Yates drowned each of her five children one by one. After killing the children, she told police that she was a bad mother to them and that they weren't developing right. Her husband, Russell, stood by her side and advocated for greater mental health treatment.

What occurred in the case of Rex v Arnold?

In this case, the defendant had attempted to assassinate a British lord. The Wild Beast Test of insanity was established in which morality was replaced with a cognitive failing in understanding and memory.

What is the irresistible impulse definition of insanity?

In this standard, the defendant is said to have a lack of volitional capacity, or an inability to control certain behaviors. However, this standard did not last long as many questioned if the jury could decide when a behavior was irresistible.

What is the Sam Stone experiment?

In this study, a man came into a preschool classroom and told the children a story while handing out cupcakes. The children were then asked about both real and fabricated events. The study showed that 50% of children aged 4-6 answered yes to misleading false questions about the events, while 81% of 3-5 answered yes to the same questions. Both groups answered yes less often in a neutral setting and were prone to false memory when anxiety and suspicion were raised.

What is the legal definition of insanity?

Insanity is a legal term used to describe the state of mind at the time of the crime. Simply having a mental illness does not make one insane, rather the illness must inhibit moral responsibility and the knowing of right and wrong. The insanity defense is then used when one commits a crime without full understanding of what they did.

What are some issues with suggestive psychotherapy?

It is strongly believed that the root of psychological problems is abuse as the therapist forces the client to analyze vague linkages. Techniques used include hypnosis, dream association, or imagery.

What happened during the first trial of Andrea Yates?

It was known that Yates committed the crime, but jurors were left to deliberate if she was not guilty by reason of insanity. Yates had psychologists testify about her psychotic and satanic beliefs, but the jury ruled that she was guilty sending her to prison for life.

What happened to Jennifer Thompson?

Jennifer Thompson was a 22-year-old college student when a man broke into her apartment and raped her. During the crime, the perpetrator got up and turned on the lights. Combined with this and faint lights from the stereo, Thompson got a view of her abuser. She ran into a neighbor's house and escaped the perpetrator, who would later commit another attack that same night.

How do jurors interpret claims of abuse?

Jurors are more likely to believe younger children who have no reason to exaggerate claims.

How do jurors interpret insanity?

Jurors do not use the instructions of the standards, rather they use preexisting common sense to interpret the intentions of the defendant. Tests with different criteria, do not produce different verdicts.

APLS Recommendation #6: Obtain a post-lineup confidence statement

Law enforcement needs to get the initial confidence level directly after viewing the lineup. There is a higher correlation between post-lineup confidence and the accuracy of conviction in court since there is limited feedback at this time.

What was the result of Hinckley's trial?

Many argued that Hinckley should have been convicted (76% of Americans). The shift of insanity was placed the burden on the prosecution to prove that the defendant was sane.

What are some misconceptions of the insanity defense?

Many believe that the defense is used often to simply escape punishment or diminish culpability. However, it is used in only 1% of criminal trials and fails 75% of the time. It is no more successful than any other defense claim, and often leads to longer times in jail due to periods in a psychiatric hospital.

What are some problems regarding memory processes?

Memory is highly prone to errors that can occur at any stage. There are often problems with encoding information due to memory's selective nature and attention gaps.

What are mens rea and actus rea?

Mens rea is the idea of having a guilty mind, while actus rea is the criminal act. Both are needed to be found guilty.

What are the details of the Kelly Michaels Day Center Case?

Michaels was a preschool teacher accused of abusing 20 children aged 3-5 by playing the piano naked and forcing the children to eat feces. After one of her students reported that Michaels used to "take his temperature" an interview was conducted in which the abuse was showcased on a detailed doll. Two other boys came forward and said that Michaels touched their private parts with a spoon. In the end, Michaels was convicted of 115 counts of abuse based on the testimony of 19 children, but was released after the discovery of biased child interviews.

At what stage are insanity laws altered?

Most changes to the insanity defense have occurred in public cases as a result of unhappiness. These changes occur in a highly contested political atmosphere.

Are clinical psychologists effective in determining insanity?

Most experts can not agree if a defendant qualifies as insane. Instead, the rates of agreement are relatively low such as 76% in Alaska and 55% in Hawaii. Disagreement often arose when the defendant was under the influence.

What are some issues with the Manson criteria?

Most of the time, the criteria are difficult to apply to crimes and rely heavily on self-report in regard to opportunity, attention, and certainty.

What are some characteristics of those found not guilty by reason of insanity?

Most that qualify under the NGRI verdict are female, older, unemployed, and have been found incompetent to stand trial. They also had psychosis and mood disorders.

What are some beliefs regarding neurolaw?

Neurolaw has a high success rate, leading to 20% of successful outcomes for defendants in 2800 legal opinions from 2005-2015. Despite the persuasiveness of biological explanations over psychological reasoning, some argue that these scans do not answer the questions of culpability and that people kill people, not brains.

How important are eyewitness testimonies?

Often they are the differences. between acquittal and conviction. In a study of 347 cases in which the only evidence was eyewitness testimony, the defendant was convicted 74% of the time. In 71% of cases, defendants were exonerated after faulty eyewitness testimony.

How do expectations relate to eyewitness testimony?

Often, what we expect to see influences how we perceive the world. In one study, a mock trial was held to discuss a convenience store robbery. After reviewing the evidence, the experimenter took out key details. These details were then filled in with scripts, or preexisting ideas of what had happened, that was never observed.

What are the Manson criteria established in the case of Neil v Biggers and Manson v Braithwaite?

Opportunity, attention, accuracy of the description, degree of certainty, and the time between identification and the crime.

What are some suggestive techniques used by law enforcement in suggestive interviews?

Repetition, suggestive events, praise and reward, criticism of unwanted answers, and speculation. They also began most interviews with the assumption of abuse.

What are the two purposes of punishment?

Retribution in which the punishment is designed to fit the crime as well as deterrence in which future offenders are prone to avoiding the same action.

What is the Insanity Defense Reform Act?

Said to be a retooling of the M'Naghten rule and the cognitive prong, the Insanity Defense Reform Act established after the Hinckley case argues that due to a mental defect, the defendant does not understand the nature or moral consequences of the crime. This standard is used in the majority of states. The act shifted the burden of insanity back to the defense and dropped the volitional prong of the ALI standard.

What happened at the Little Rascals Day Care Center?

Seven adults were accused of abusing 90 children in strange and bizarre ways such as murdering babies, hanging upside down from trees, and setting themselves on fire.

What happened in the case of Sheri Storm?

Storm was subjected to psychotherapy in which she generated alters through false memories. She still suffers from trauma and nightmares.

What is reality monitoring?

The ability to distinguish fact from fantasy. It is often said this skill is lacking in children until the age of 5.

How reliable is child memory?

The ability to store, code, and retrieve memory is not fully developed, making it easier to implement suggestive information.

What is the Guilty but mentally ill ruling?

The argument that the defendant is guilty and sentenced to prison for time consistent with the crime. However, they receive psychiatric treatment during their sentence. However, treatment is not guaranteed and they may receive longer sentences.

What is repression?

The belief by psychotherapists that trauma can be pushed out of conscious awareness, but remain intact and locked away.

What is the weapon focus effect?

The belief that if the perpetrator is holding a weapon, there will be less attention on their physical features and greater focus on the weapon or source of danger.

What is cognitive dissonance?

The belief that once one commits themselves to an act, they become motivated to proving that course of action despite lower cognitive certainty.

What were some flaws in the Michaels case?

The children were prone to suggestive information such as a repeating of the question until the desired response was given. When interviewers repeat the question, children assume that a response is needed and their answer was unacceptable.

What is child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome?

The creation of psychological symptoms that cause the child to feel helpless and seal the abuse. This leads to delayed disclosure, denial, or recantations of admitted information. Many argue that this leads to a tentative and partial report based on pushing past psychological limitations. Despite the belief, denial and recantations are unusual and many children do disclose within a first or second interview.

How were brain scans used in the trial of John Hinckley Jr.?

The defense used a brain scan to demonstrate the side effects of schizophrenia such as a widened sulci. This led to the development of neurolaw.

Why do the purposes of punishment serve no use to those who are mentally insane?

The first goal of punishment, retribution, serves no use as those who are insane have no understanding that what they did was wrong. Deterrence is also meaningless as mentally ill people are irrational and will commit crimes anyway.

What is the introductory phase?

The first part of the NICHD protocol in which the interviewer creates a relaxed and supportive environment. Here, the interviewer builds rapport and familiarizes the child by having them describe a non-threatening narrative such as a birthday party.

APLS Recommendation #5: Proper Pre-Lineup Instructions to an Eyewitness

The investigator must tell the eyewitness that they do not know who the suspect is and that the culprit may or may not be in the lineup. This removes the presumption of choice and gives the eyewitness the opportunity to say "no" or "I don't know."

How does the legal system correct for the problems associated with the Manson criteria?

The legal system argues that several safeguards have been put in place for revealing truth. These include voir dire in which the defense has the ability to seed out biased jurors, cross examination in which the flaws of the testimony are exposed, and jury deliberation that places fact finding in the hands of the citizens.

What is the relationship between opportunity and the accuracy of a conviction?

The longer the chance a person has to look at their perpetrator, the more likely they are to make an accurate conviction. However, this can vary based on the conditions of the crime such as stress or the time at which the crime occurs.

What is diminished capacity or lack of mens rea defense?

The notion that the defendant lacked the capability to form specific intent. It is only applicable to crimes that require pre-meditation such as first degree murder.

What is the ground rules phase?

The second phase of the NICHD protocol in which the interviewer breaks the power dynamic and tells the child they can answer I don't know, but they have to give the truth. The interviewer clarifies that they weren't at the crime, and thus all details need to be given by the child.

Why is the M'Naghten rule considered a cognitive test?

The standard emphasizes a misunderstanding of both the nature and moral consequences of the crime.

What were some problems with the Durham standard?

The standard was believed to give too much power to the defense and overused expert testimony. This led to its removal 18 years after its inception, but it is still used in New Hampshire.

What is the substantive phase?

The use of open ended prompts to focus the child on the incident such as asking "Why did you come and talk to me?" The interviewer then uses directive questioning only after the free recall of the child.

What is the M'Naghten Rule?

There are four pillars to the M'Naghten rule. First, the defendant must be considered sane. Then, there must be a defect of mind during the crime. Next, the defendant does not understand the nature the act. Lastly, the perpetrator must be unable to differentiate right and wrong.

How has hypnosis been useful in the courtroom?

There have been cases in which hypnosis led to the discovery of greater physical evidence. It can also be used when one is scared of admitting information. However, California has excluded it use and its admittance changes on a case by case basis.

What are some issues regarding the use of dolls and diagrams at child interviews?

This method is often used when a child is reluctant to give certain details. However, research has shown greater rates of false accusation with these methods and insist that these props only be used after a disclosure of abuse.

What is the cross race effect?

This phenomenon believes that individuals have greater difficulty distinguishing those in a different race, and analyzing their own race in greater detail. The trend is present in babies that are nine months old and persists across time. The false-positive rate is 1.56 times higher for cross-racial identifications.

APLS Recommendation #2: Putting suspects in lineups

This recommendation argues that a suspect should only be placed in the lineup if there is evidence against them. This evidence needs to be documented and must resemble a fit to the person or some incriminating evidence that connects them to the crime scene.

APLS Recommendation #1: Pre-Lineup Interviews

This recommendation argues that police should interview an eyewitness as soon as the crime is committed. The interview needs to include a detailed description of the perpetrator as well self reports of the crime. During this interview, victims are told not to search the internet or corroborate with other witnesses. They are asked open ended questions to limit bias.

APLS Recommendation #3: Use of Double Blind Lineups

This recommendation believes that both law enforcement and the victim should not know who the suspect is in the lineup. This prevents unconscious communication to the victim on who to select.

APLS Recommendation #7: Video Recording

This recommendation offers that the entire procedure should be video recorded and serve as an objective record of the process such as feedback, fillers, and potential bias.

APLS Recommendation #8: The avoidance of repeated identification procedures with the same witness and suspect

This recommendation states that earlier procedures can contaminate later results, and that all lineups should be changed prior to identification.

What was the importance of State v Henderson?

This ruling in New Jersey stated that much of the Manson Criteria do not reach its intended goals. This led to the implementation of pretrial testimony, in which the admissibility of the eyewitness was considered. Also, jurors were given more instruction such as to create greater consideration for stress, focus, and cross racial effects during the crime scene.

What was the importance of State v Lawson?

This ruling in Oregon argued that if eyewitness testimony was the only evidence of the prosecution, then it must be on an admissible basis. It also argued that admissibility should be based on relevant factors.

What is the ALI standard?

This standard proposed both the cognitive prong of the M'Naghten test in which one could not appreciate wrongfulness as well as the volitional prong in which the behavior was uncontrollable. Mental illness was also prohibited from being a result of criminal activity or intoxication. This standard is still used in a minority of states.

What was the aftermath of the crime involving Jennifer Thompson?

Thompson then spoke to law enforcement to create a sketch of her perpetrator. The sketch circulated around, and she later identified Ronald Cotton from a photo lineup. Detectives stated that they "thought he would be the one."

What are estimator variables?

Variables outside control of the legal system.

What are system variables?

Variables under the control of the legal system such as lineup construction.

What is transferrence?

When a face familiar from another context is transferred to the scene of the crime. This can occur when someone is seen on TV or they are exposed via mug shot.

APLS Recommendation #9: Avoid showups

When a single suspect is presented to a witness and the police already believe that this suspect is guilty.

What is hypnotic hypermensia?

When a victim provides memory under hypnosis. These statements are often filled with fictional detail and lead to an increased belief in the imagined event as a real memory.

What is the post-identification effect?

When feedback from law enforcement distorts identification, can also be created by co-eyewitnesses. This increases the confidence level of the victim.

What is retrieval inhibition?

When one is only asked to recall certain aspects of a scene, and then inhibits recall of all other details.

What is malingering?

When the defendant fakes psychological problems to use the not guilty by insanity verdict. Used in the trial of Kenneth Bianchi who invented multiple personality to use an insanity plea. Bianchi was later found guilty.

What is the invitation follow-up prompt?

When the interviewer asks the child to recall information about the event. Examples include "Tell me everything that happened or tell me more about that."

What is the cued invitation follow-up prompt?

When the interviewer focuses the child's attention on specific details to promote further recall such as asking "You mentioned X" or "You mentioned this action."

What is a directive follow-up prompt?

When the interviewer follows up on specific information already mentioned such as asking "what color was the shirt" or "where and when did that happen."

What is the facilitator follow-up prompt?

When the interviewer uses non-suggestive prompts to have the child continue with the conversation. Examples include "Okay, yes, uh-uh."

What is confirmation bias?

When victims are reinforced on their selection, it leads to increased confidence and "better" memories of attention and opportunity.

How did Yates qualify under the legal definition of insanity?

Yates fit under this definition of insanity as she suffered from postpartum depression leading to overwhelming disconnect from reality. Yates eventually stopped taking her prescriptions, scratched the sign of satan into her scalp, and believed cartoon characters were speaking to her.

Do children elaborate on events that didn't occur?

Yes. A study conducted found that 58% of children gave elaborate details of a false event after repetitive questioning. 25% of the children even gave false memories of the event.