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Eyewitness Identification & Testimony (Chapter 5)

Terms in this set (11)

What is considered the most compelling piece of evidence in court and why?
Eyewitness testimony, because it is the leading evidence in wrongful convictions, as it has some sway during investigations and to a jury.
What is the cross-race effect?
This states that we are worse at identifying persons from outside our own racial groups, and it is present to as young as 9 months old.
What is one reason a victim of a robbery may not be able to identity their assailant?
If the assailant has a weapon it will elevate the victims stress levels even more and distract them.
What is the unusual item hypothesis?
This states that even the use of unusual weapons (ie. goose) distracts our attention away from identifying assailant.
What are some problems with eyewitness testimony?
1) Cross-racial identification
2) Stress and weapon focus
3) Unconscious transference
4) Leading or suggestive comments
5) Pre-existing expectations
6) Witness confidence
Who is Robert Cotton?
Robert is a African American, who when in his 20s was wrongfully convicted of breaking in and raping a woman named Jennifer.
What were some of the cross-racial identification issues of eyewitness testimony that was found within the Robert Cotton case?
Victim was white; attacker was black.
What were some of the stress and weapon focus issues of eyewitness testimony that was found within the Robert Cotton case
Blade was put to victims throat.
What were some of the unconscience transference issues of eyewitness testimony that was found within the Robert Cotton case
Photo and physical lineup. Also, the location of the crime was within a smaller community, and Cotton worked at a diner that Jennifer went to.
What were some of the pre-existing expectation issues of eyewitness testimony that was found within the Robert Cotton case
The racial component to the case.
What are some ways to improve eyewitness accuracy?
1) Blind lineup administrators
2) Bias-reducing instructions to eyewitness
3) Unbiased lineups
4) Confidence ratings
5) Video recordings
6) Sequential lineups
7) Expert testimony
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