About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

66 U. Colo. L. Rev. 477 (1994-1995)
Repression, Memory, and Suggestibility: A Call for Limitations on the Admissibility of Repressed Memory Testimony in Sexual Abuse Trials

handle is hein.journals/ucollr66 and id is 487 raw text is: REPRESSION, MEMORY, AND SUGGESTIBILITY: A CALL FOR LIMITATIONS ON THE ADMISSIBILITY OF REPRESSED MEMORY TESTIMONY IN SEXUAL ABUSE TRIALS JULIE M. KOSMOND MURRAY INTRODUCTION In the fall of 1993, thirty-four-year-old Steven J. Cook accused Chicago's Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of sexually molesting him during his childhood, claiming that he had only recently recovered his long-repressed memories of the abuse.' Allegations like these have become almost commonplace, and have often been met with sympathy and acceptance by the general public. But accounts of abuse remembered through therapy are not only accepted; in some circles, such as the recovery movement,2 they are almost celebrated. The legal community has responded to the public's accep- tance of repressed-memory accusations. While lawsuits by adults claiming childhood sexual abuse would ordinarily be time-barred, most academic writing advocates tolling the statute of limitations during the period of repression, or otherwise making it easier for potential civil plaintiffs to file claims for damages decades after the alleged abuse occurred.3 The courts have reacted, with many of them eventually construing the discovery rule to allow a person with recently- 1. Michael Hirsley & Jan Crawford, 'I've Led a Chaste Life, Bernardin Says: Cardinal a Target of Sex-Abuse Suit, CHI. TRIB., Nov. 13, 1993, at 1. 2. The recovery movement is a generic term for various therapies, twelve- step programs, motivational tapes, workshops, and self-help psychology books. The movement is premised on the idea that unhappiness, work and relationship troubles, and addictions are caused by being raised in a dysfunctional family. ELEANOR GOLDSTEIN & KEVIN FARMER, CONFABULATIONS: CREATING FALSE MEMORIES; DESTROYING FAMILIES 261 (1992); see generally JOHN BRADsHAw, HOMECOMING: RECLAIMING AND CHAMPIONING YOUR INNER CHILD (1990). 3. See, e.g., Tina Snelling & Wayne Fisher, Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Should Texas Courts Apply the Discovery Rule?, 33 S. TEX. L. REV. 377 (1992); Gary Strauss, Comment, Child Sexual Abuse Civil Actions and the Statute of Limitations: Time is Running Out, 1993 DET. C.L. REV. 1641.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most