Hypnotically Refreshed Testimony - Enhanced Memory or Tampering With Evidence?

• NCJ Number: 97256
• Author(s): M T Orne; D a Soskis; D F Dinges; E C Orne; M H Tonry
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 70 pages
• Contract Number(s): J-LEAA-013-78
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Abt Associates, Inc
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: national Institute of Justice/Issues and Practices in Criminal Justice.

Annotation

After reviewing scientific knowledge relevant to forensic applications of hypnosis, this report examines the effects of hypnosis on memory, belief, and certitude; the forensic use of hypnosis; and case law on the admissibility of hypnotically refreshed testimony. Guidelines are presented for the investigative use of hypnosis, the area to which the report believes the forensic use of hypnosis should be limited.

Abstract

An introduction to hypnosis notes that hypnotized persons are highly suggestible and often invent requested information that memory cannot supply. The discussion also indicates that it is possible both to lie under hypnosis and to feign the hypnotic state. The most technical part of the report reviews scientific evidence relevant to the forensic applications of hypnosis. Critical issues raised by forensic hypnosis are then considered, including ways in which it might be used, who should conduct the hypnotic interview, and what induction and questioning techniques should be used. Consideration of modern case law on the admissibility of hypnotically refreshed eyewitness testimony indicates that the courts agree that such testimony should not be admissible. The report argues for the use of hypnosis only in investigations; guidelines for such use are presented to cover the qualifications and knowledge of the hypnotist, videotape recordings of hypnosis sessions, limitations on those present during the interview, prehypnosis evaluation, appropriate hypnotic induction and memory retrieval techniques, communication with the hypnotist, posthypnosis discussion, clinical followup, technical considerations, and precautions in hypnotizing suspects. Sixteen footnotes, 89 references, and a glossary are provided.