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20 Wayne L. Rev. 117 (1973-1974)
Some Psychological Limitations on Witness Reliability

handle is hein.journals/waynlr20 and id is 129 raw text is: SOME PSYCHOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS ON WITNESS RELIABILITY MURIEL D. LEZAK Discrepancies between what eyewitnesses report and what they actually perceived are due to deliberate lying or to some failure of the eyewitness's information handling system-or both. Considera- tion of these failures is of critical importance, as they are so common that not even the memory of the most conscientious eyewitness can ever be photographically faithful to the original scene. With the very best intentions, honorable people have been known to do great harm to others because of these failures. Skillful use of psychological exper- tise, however, might expose these failures and render them less harm- ful. In fact, systematic application of psychological knowledge and techniques might well run much eyewitness testimony out of court in short order. Psychological knowledge demonstrates that almost all eyewitness testimony is necessarily unreliable. This does not mean that it cannot be accurate; we know it frequently is. What we don't know is just when and to what extent eyewitness reports are correct or impaired.1 For example: In New York City recently a newly-appointed assistant district attorney was stopped for questioning one night when a balky automo- bile engine caused him to drive slowly and in what police considered to be a suspicious manner. When the patrolmen got a look at him, their suspicions became stronger. He answered the general description of a man sought in connection with a series of sexual assaults. He had identification but as yet nothing to identify him as an assistant district attorney. Through the night he was placed in a series of line-ups. t Clinical Psychologist, Veterans Administration Hospital, Portland, Oregon; Assistant Professor of Neurology, University of Oregon Medical School. Ph.B. 1947, A.M. 1949, Univer- sity of Chicago; Ph.D. 1960, University of Portland. The author wishes to thank her husband, Sidney 1. Lezak, J.D., for his helpful suggestions regarding some of the legal considerations of this Article.-ED. I. I. HUNTER, MEMORY: FACTS AND FALLACIES 169-75 (1957); Tapp & Levine, The Psy- chology of Criminal Identification: The Gap from Wade to Kirby, 121 U. PA. L. REV. (1973).

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