NCJ Number
70738
Editor(s)
D P Farrington,
K Hawkins,
S M LLoyd-Bostock
Date Published
1979
Length
239 pages
Annotation
Psychological research bearing upon the effectiveness of law and legal processes is discussed in this collection of essays.
Abstract
The introduction notes that psycholegal research in the past has aimed at making a contribution to the concerns of the practicing lawyer, but the scope of such research is now widening to include topics of academic as well as practical interest. A need is indicated for researchers and legal professionals to engage in dialogue about research findings and their applicability to the 'real world' of criminal justice proceedings. Essays which treat the general subject of the contributions of psychology to law examine the roles of psychological research on behavior in the legal context, the functions of the psychologist as expert witness, research on jury decisionmaking, and the process by which persons are socialized to become law-abiding. Two essays treat psychological perspectives on the handling of accident compensation and compensation for victims of criminal violence. A number of essays treat psychological studies of legal decisionmaking in Great Britain. Factors affecting discrepancies in magistrates' decisions between jurisdictions, a comparison of the effectiveness of two prevalent ways to courts handle truancy, and the process by which a defense lawyer constructs a sentence recommendation for his/her client are among the subjects considered. Three essays report on the results of research that has examined the reliability of eyewitness identification. Tabular and graphic data, along with notes and references, generally accompany the research reported. Also included are a glossry of technical terms, a table of cases and statutes, and subject and author indexes. For related documents, see NCJ 70739-48.