Memory and Law

The legal system depends upon memory function in a number of critical ways, including the memories of victims; the memories of individuals who witness crimes or other critical events; the memories of investigators, lawyers and judges engaged in the legal process; and the memories of jurors. How well memory works, how accurate it is, how it is affected by various aspects of the criminal justice system-all these are important questions. This book tackles others as well. Can we tell when someone is reporting an accurate memory? Can we distinguish a true memory from a false one? Can memories be selectively enhanced, or erased? Are memories altered by emotion, by stress, by drugs? This book presents the current state of knowledge among cognitive and neural scientists about memory.