Memory lessons from the courtroom: Reflections on being a memory expert on the witness stand

Abstract

In the first part of this article I describe a variety of cases that I have been involved with that led to my becoming an expert witness. These cases range from questions about children's memory for being raped, to remembering an ear-witnessed murder, to preventing future false memories. In the second part of this article I reflect on some of the remarkable feats of remembering that complainants exhibit in court, ones that contradict much of what the scientific study of memory has shown to be true. Along the way I argue that until this scientific knowledge becomes part of a "culture of memory" familiar to triers of fact (judges, jurors), police, and laypeople, memory experts will continue to be an inexorable part of the legal process when memory serves as the main or only evidence.

Keywords: Early memories; False memories; Memory and law.