Hypnotic Testimony in Court the Thesis

United States. (R.T.C., p. 1217). The third judicial approach focuses on a defendant's constitutional rights. "Some courts have held that a pretrial hypnosis session may be so suggestive that a criminal defendant's due process rights are violated if testimony influenced by the session is admitted. These courts scrutinize hypnotic procedures under the standard for pretrial identifications developed by the United States Supreme Court in Stovall v. Denno." (R.T.C., p. 1219). These standards restrict the admission of any identification testimony that the court deems the result of unnecessarily suggestive procedures, which could deny a defendant due process of law. (R.T.C., p. 1219).

While hypnosis does introduce certain difficulties into eyewitness accounts, the fact is that some of the elements used in hypnosis can be helpful in enhancing recall. The most successful types of hypnosis show a lack of negative factors and an enhancement in positive factors. These elements are incorporated into a technique referred to as the cognitive interview. The original version of the cognitive interview required the witness to "(1) reinstate mental context; (2) report everything; (3) recall events in different orders; and (4) change perspectives." (Kebbell and Wagstaff, p.123). The cognitive interview is not hypnotic at all, and has shown tremendous success. The cognitive interview can improve recall by about 35% over the standard interview. (Kebbell and Wagstaff, p.124). In addition, while people may recall more incorrect information during the cognitive interview, there is no indication that the cognitive interview negatively impacts accuracy. (Kebbell and Wagstaff, p.124). Even the change perspective component of the cognitive interview, which would seem likely to invite confabulation, has not been shown to have any impact on memory.

Works Cited

Kebbell, Mark and Graham Wagstaff. "Hypnotic Interviewing: The Best Way to Interview

Eyewitnesses?" Behavioral Sciences and the Law 16 (1998): 115-129.

Orne, Martin. "The Use and Misuse of Hypnosis in Court." Crime and Justice 3 (1981): 61-104.

R.T.C. "The Admissibility of Testimony Influenced by Hypnosis." Virginia Law Review 67(6).....