Legal psychology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Legal psychology involves the application of empirical psychological research to legal institutions and people who come into contact with the law. Legal psychology is a field which takes basic social and cognitive theories and principles and applies them to issues in the legal system such as eyewitness memory, jury decision-making, investigations and interviewing.
Legal psychology and forensic psychology together form the field more generally recognized as "psychology and law". Following up on earlier efforts by psychologists to address legal issues, psychology and law became a field of study in the 1960s as part of an effort to enhance justice. The American Psychological Association's Division 41, the American Psychology-Law Society, is active, and there are similar societies in Britain and Europe.
There are several legal psychology journals, including Law and Human Behavior, Psychology, Public Policy and Law, Psychology, Crime, and Law, and Journal of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. In addition, research by legal psychologists is regularly published in more general journals that cover both basic and applied research areas.
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[edit] Training and education
Legal psychologists typically hold a Ph.D. in some area of psychology (e.g., clinical psychology, social psychology, cognitive psychology, etc.), and apply their knowledge of that field to the law. Although formal legal training (such as a J.D. or Master of Legal Studies degree) can be beneficial, most legal psychologists hold only the Ph.D. In fact, some argue that specialized legal training dilutes the psychological empiricism of the researcher. For instance, to understand how eyewitness memory "works," a psychologist should be concerned with memory processes as a whole, instead of only the aspects relevant to the law (e.g., lineups, accuracy of testimony).
A growing number of universities offer specialized training in legal psychology as either a standalone Ph.D. program or a joint J.D. / Ph.D. program. A list of American universities that offer graduate training in legal psychology can be found here on the website of the American Psychology-Law Society.
[edit] Roles of a legal psychologist
[edit] Academics and research
Many legal psychologists work as professors in university psychology departments, criminal justice departments or law schools. Like other professors, legal psychologists generally conduct and publish empirical research, teach various classes, and mentor graduate and undergraduate students. Many legal psychologists also conduct research in a more general area of psychology (e.g., social, clinical, cognitive) with only a tangental legal focus. Those legal psychologists who work in law schools almost always hold a J.D. in addition to a Ph.D.
[edit] Expert witnesses
Psychologists specifically trained in legal issues, as well as those with no formal training, are often called by legal parties to testify as expert witnesses. In criminal trials, an expert witness may be called to testify about eyewitness memory, mistaken identity, competence to stand trial, the propensity of a death-qualified jury to also be "pro-guilt," etc. Psychologists who focus on clinical issues often testify specifically about a defendant's competence, intelligence, etc. More general testimony about perceptual issues (e.g., adequacy of police sirens) may also come up in trial.
Experts, particularly psychology experts, are often accused of being "hired guns" or "stating the obvious." Eyewitness memory experts, such as Elizabeth Loftus, are often discounted by judges and lawyers with no empirical training because their research utilizes undergraduate students and "unrealistic" scenarios. If both sides have psychological witnesses, jurors may have the daunting task of assessing difficult scientific information.
[edit] Policy making and legislative guidance
Psychologists employed at public policy centers may attempt to influence legislative policy or may be called upon by state (or national) lawmakers to address some policy issue through empirical research. A psychologist working in public policy might suggest laws or help to evaluate a new legal practice (e.g., the use of sequential lineups v.s. simultaneous lineups).
[edit] Trial consulting
Many psychologists act as trial consultants. No special training nor certification is needed to be a trial consultant, though an advanced degree is generally welcomed by those who would hire the trial consultant. The American Society of Trial Consultants does have a code of ethics for members, but there are no legally binding ethical rules for consultants.
Some psychologists who work in academics are hired as trial consultants when their expertise can be useful to a particular case. Other psychologist/consultants work for or with established trial consultant firms. The practice of law firms hiring "in-house" trial consultants is becoming more popular, but these consultants usually can also be used by the firms as practicing attorneys.
Trial consultants perform a variety of services for lawyers, such as picking jurors (usually relying on in-house or published statistical studies) or performing "mock trials" with focus groups. Trial consultants work on all stages of a case from helping to organize testimony, preparing witnesses to testify, picking juries, and even arranging "shadow jurors" to watch the trial unfold and provide input on the trial. There is some debate on whether the work of a trial consultant is protected under attorney-client privilege, especially when the consultant is hired by a party in the case and not by an attorney.
[edit] Advisory roles
Legal psychologists may hold advisory roles in court systems. They may advise legal decision makers, particularly judges, on psychological findings pertaining to issues in a case. The psychologist who acts as a court advisor provides similar input to one acting as an expert witness, but acts out of the domain of an adversarial system.
[edit] Amicus briefs
Psychologists can provide an amicus brief to the court. The American Psychological Association has provided briefs concerning mental illness, retardation and other factors. The amicus brief usually contains an opinion backed by scientific citations and statistics. The impact of an amicus brief by a psychological association is questionable. For instance, Justice Powell[1] once called a reliance on statistics "numerology" and discounted results of several empirical studies. Judges who have no formal scientific training also may critique experimental methods, and some feel that judges only cite an amicus brief when the brief supports the judge's predisposition.
