Lecture 1 Flashcards
Narrow definitions
- Design certain aspects of the profession while ignoring other aspects
- ex. Psychologists doing clinical work
Broad definitions
- Inclusive of many profession aspects
- Considering human behaviour in relation to legal system
Weiner’s definition of forensic psychology (1997)
Issues arising out of the relationship between human behaviour and the law, legal system and legal process
Bartol and Bartol definition of forensic psychology (1987)
- Research endeavor (to inform applied practice)
- A professional practice, or in consultation with a legal system and considers both civil and criminal law
Psychology and the law
- Use of psychology to study the operation of the legal system
- “Are eyewitnesses accurate”
Psychology in the law
- Use of psychology within the legal system as it currently operates
- Expert testimonies
Psychology of the law
- Use of psychology to study the law itself
- “Is the death penalty a good deterrent”
Catel (1893)
- Eyewitness testimony
- 56 students questioned, answers often inaccurate
- Found no relation to confidence and correctness
Binet (early 1900)
- Suggestibility in children
- Shown objects/images for short period of time, asked to write down what was seen
- Asked misleading questions
Stern and Liszt (1910)
- Classroom encounter scenario and recall
- Recall was worse when in emotional situations
Von Schrenck-Notzing (1896)
- German expert witness
- Testified about impact of extensive pre-trial press coverage
- Retroactive memory falsification
Munsterberg (1908)
- On witness stand
- Psychology and the legal system
- Resistance from legal scholars
- Pushed psychology into legal arena
Year psychology came to NA prisons
1913
Year for psychological service for police and laboratories to conduct pre-trial assessments
1916
Year for tests for personnel selection
1917
Varendonck (1911)
- Belgian murder trial
- Children giving different evidence
- Showed inaccurate recall in children
Marston (1922)
First professor of legal psychology
State vs driver (1921)
First court case where expert testimony is provided by a psychologist
Jenkins vs USA (1962)
Court rules some psychologists are qualified to give expert testimony on the issues of mental disease
People vs Hawthorne (1940)
Psychology expert status based on extent of knowledge and not medical degree
Brown vs board of education (1954)
- 1951 district refused to enroll black child into white school
- Psychologists submitted brief outlining detrimental effects of segregation
Benefits of becoming a distinct discipline
- Increase in quality of books
- Increase in academic journals
- Increase in professional associations
- Increase in degree programs
- Training opportunities
- Code of ethics
Forensic psychologist as clinician
- Assessment and treatment of offenders
- Custody mediations
- Providing expert testimonies
- Personnel selection
Forensic psychologist as researcher
- Examining risk assessment strategies
- Testing ways of conduction eyewitness lineups
- Evaluating offender treatment programs
Forensic psychologist as legal scholar
- Engage in scholarly analysis of mental health law
- Policy analysis
Functions of expert witness
- Aid in understanding particular issue relevant to the case
- Provide an opinion
- This contrasts with regular witnesses who can only testify about what they directly observed
Frye vs USA (1923)
Resulted in general acceptance test
General acceptance test
Scientific evidence must be established that the procedure used to arrive at the testimony are generally accepted in the scientific community
Daubert vs Merrall Dow, inc (1993)
- Testimony is admissible if it is provided by qualified expert, relevant, and reliable
- The criteria requires the research to be peer reviewed, testable, have a known error rate, and adhere to professional standards
R vs Mohan (1994)
Testimony must be:
- Relevant
- Necessary to assist the trier of fact
- Must not violate any rules of exclusion
- Must be provided by a qualified expert
Tatiana Tarasoff
- Duty to warn/disclose
- Must disclose information if harmful to themselves or someone else
- Case of patient confessing to therapist his intentions to harm someone
