Term
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Definition
| Guarantees of Rights and Freedoms: All laws in the charter are guaranteed to be upheld within reasonable limits --> distinct from the American constitution |
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Term
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Definition
| Guarantees of Rights and Freedoms: laws inconsistent with the charter are of 'no force and effect' --> no precedent set |
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Term
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Definition
Fundamental Freedoms:
freedom of: (a) conscience and
religion, (b) thought, belief, opinion, and expression, (c) peaceful assembly, (d) association |
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Term
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Definition
Legal Rights:
right to liberty, life, and security of the person |
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Term
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Definition
Legal Rights:
security against unreasonable search and seizure |
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Term
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Definition
Legal Rights:
no cruel and unusual punishment |
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Term
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Definition
Equality of Rights:
(1) every individual is equal before and under the law
(2) this does not preclude affirmative action - an attempt to redress a balance issue and restore equality |
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Term
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Definition
Enforcement:
(1) infringed rights can be remedied in court --> guarantees the right to remedy rights violations
(2) evidence obtained while infringing rights are excluded |
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Term
| Range of intent (mens rea) |
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Definition
direct intention: plan and execute a murder
oblique intention: when the crime is a virtually certain consequence |
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Term
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Definition
| plan to commit a specific crime; intend the specific consequences |
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Term
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Definition
| intention to commit a criminal act incurs other consequences - ex. murder in self-defence while robbing a house |
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Term
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Definition
| If there is specific intent to murder person A, and person B intervenes, resulting in the death of person B, the murderer's specific intent to kill A would transfer to specific intent to kill B |
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Term
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Definition
mens rea does not have to be proven in conjunction with the actus reus in order for the person to be held responsible
Only not responsible if there is an honest mistake of fact - ex. a parking meter is not visible |
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Term
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Definition
| mens rea does not have to be proven - strict liability without the qualifier |
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Term
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Definition
| an actus reus in which mens rea can be proven |
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Term
| What are the differences between real and suggested memory? |
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Definition
| Actual memories include more sensory details, and suggested memories include more reference to cognitive processes |
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Term
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Definition
| Old information has more influence than new information; we disregard new evidence that contradicts old beliefs and encode new evidence that confirms old beliefs |
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Term
| What are the similarities between real and suggested memories? |
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Definition
- Both are retrieved as quickly and with equal confidence
- Both are equally likely to be maintained following contradictory information |
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Term
| What memory qualities predict susceptibility to misinformation? |
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Definition
Those with the best memories: the most likely to remember suggested information
Those with the worst memories: the most likely to forget the original information |
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Term
| What 2 factors increase the effectiveness of a suggested memory? |
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Definition
1. Plausibility: increases the perception that an experience is correct
2. Familiarity: provides additional details about an event |
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Term
| Memory impairment hypothesis |
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Definition
| False memories arise when correct memories are replaced / written over / displaced by misinformation |
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Term
| Source misattribution hypothesis |
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Definition
| False memories arise when there is confusion about the source of information, leading to misinformation being attributed to one's own experience of events |
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Term
| Misinformation acceptance hypothesis |
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Definition
People guess the answer to questions based on:
- what they heard most recently
- what they think the police / lawyer want to hear
these answers become integrated into memory |
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Term
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Definition
| Variables over which the police and justice system have at least some control - ex. conditions of an interview, police line up procedure |
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Term
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Definition
| Variables which have an effect on recall / encoding which can only be estimated (not controlled) - ex. light level during encoding, age |
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Term
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Definition
| tendency for people to perceive events selectively based on their beliefs and infer information when there are gaps in their knowledge |
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Term
| Why is misidentification by eyewitnesses so dangerous to a court case (Loftus, 1979)? |
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Definition
| Eyewitness testimony greatly increases the chance that a defendant will be found guilty, and even if the eyewitness is discredited, the increased chance of guilty verdict does not diminish |
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Term
| What evidence is there that confidence does not correlate with accuracy of witness testimony? Why, according to the same experiment, is this such a problem (Lindsay, Wells, and Rumpel, 1981)? |
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Definition
Participants were shown mock crimes under poor, moderate, and good lighting conditions. Accuracy of testimony decreased with lighting level, but confidence did not change.
New participants were then asked to estimate the accuracy of the participants in experiment 1; they guessed accuracy based on confidence, not light levels, demonstrating the dangers of confident witnesses. |
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Term
| What, according to Wells (1981), makes for a witness account that is more likely to be accurate, but less likely to be believed by jurors? |
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Definition
| When the witnesses memory for trivial details is poor. These are usually the most accurate witnesses; the more details remembered about the scene, the less likely it is that a witness will remember important details - ex. the face of an attacker |
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Term
| What is the most common reason for convicting an innocent person? |
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Definition
| Eyewitness misidentification |
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Term
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Definition
| American organization dedicated to exonerating the wrongfully convicted and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice |
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Term
| What are some important findings from the wrongful convictions found by the Innocence Project? |
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Definition
- The races of exonerees were primarily minority groups
- 75% of wrongful convictions overturned through DNA evidence were due to eyewitness misidentification |
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Term
| What are the 2 main objectives of The Association In Defense of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC)? |
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Definition
| 1. Eradicating the conditions that cause miscarriage of justice - making sure that laws are followed 2. Participating in the review and correction of wrongful convictions |
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Term
| What is the only system in Canada that provides independent review of claims of wrongful arrest? |
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Definition
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Term
| When McLean (1995) analysed audio recordings of police interviews, what did he find with respect to interview style and the type of questions asked? |
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Definition
- 50% of the questions were leading - ex. 'yes/no' questions
- officer and witness spoke for equal amounts of time - witness should talk more to avoid the officer controlling the interview
- officer's style was highly obstructive - interrupting the witness, not probing or following up witnesses statements |
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Term
| When McLean (1995) analysed audio recordings of police interviews, what did he find when he compared them to written transcripts of the interviews? |
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Definition
- written reports were highly edited - on average 14 facts per tape were not written down (there were 16 tapes); in 4 cases the transcripts directly contradicted what was said - all 16 of the transcripts were signed by the interviewee
-> trust in the authority figure |
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Term
| What are the 5 steps of the Cognitive Interview (Enhanced) |
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Definition
| 1. Guided imagery, 2. Temporal order, 3. Report any related matter, 4. Recall using different perspectives, 5. Rapport |
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Term
| Describe the use of guided imagery in the cognitive interview |
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Definition
| having the witness mentally reinstate the original context, visualize himself and others present, physical and emotional state, etc. -> access to state-dependent memory |
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Term
| Describe the use of temporal order in the cognitive interview |
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Definition
| Witnesses tend to rehearse their story in chronological order; by disrupting this order - ex. having the witness start 10 min. before the event, then work backwards from 10 min. after the event - the rehearsed story can be disrupted, revealing information that might have been missed |
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Term
| Why is it important that witnesses report any related matter in the cognitive interview? |
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Definition
| Witnesses may omit information because it seems irrelevant from their perspective; there is a chance this information could be important to the case |
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Term
| Why are witnesses asked to recall the event from different perspectives in the cognitive interview? What negative consequence might this have? |
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Definition
| This is a way of escaping the witnesses rehearsed story; however, it has the potential to introduce misinformation into the witnesses memory, which is why it is done at the end of the interview |
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Term
| Describe the fifth step added to the enhanced version of the cognitive interview? |
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Definition
| Rapport: making the witness feel comfortable and relaxed |
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Term
| What are 4 general guidelines for conducting a cognitive interview? |
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Definition
| 1. 20-30/80-70 talking time between witness and interviewer, 2. Flexible, 3. No interruptions, 4. Open-ended questions |
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Term
| Line ups: Double Blind Procedure (what is it, and why is it necessary?) |
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Definition
| In a double blind procedure, the investigator presenting the line up does not know who the suspect is. This prevents the investigator from inadvertently cueing the witness vocally or behaviourally to either pick the suspect or to reinforce their decision |
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Term
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Definition
| Photos are presented sequentially to the witness; the witness does not know how many photos they will be shown; they must make a 'yes/no' judgement call on each photo; they can only view a photo once |
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Term
| Line ups: Absolute judgement v. relative judgement |
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Definition
| In an absolute judgement the witness is certain that the person they pick is the person they saw; in a relative judgement, the witness picks the person in the line up that is most like the person they saw (no certainty) |
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Term
| Line ups: Matching to appearance strategy |
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Definition
| The foils in a line up should match the witnesses' description of the potential suspect, not what the suspect in the line up actually looks like; this avoids biasing the witness to pick the suspect |
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Term
| It is very important that all foils in a line up have a(n) ______ , so that police won't have to follow up on unlikely leads |
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Definition
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Term
| What phenomenon explains why having the same people in a photo line up be presented in a live line up would bias a witness? |
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Definition
| Source misattribution: the familiarity from the photo line up might be mistaken for familiarity from seeing the person at the crime |
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Term
| Why is it important to measure witness confidence ratings right after identification? |
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Definition
| People's confidence ratings will likely increase as time passes (belief perseverance, confirmation bias, cognitive dissonance). Therefore, it is important to asses confidence immediately. |
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Term
| What is a blank line up, why is it beneficial, and why is it often not used? |
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Definition
| A blank line up consists only of foils with alibis (no suspect). Presenting a witness with a blank line up will test whether they are using absolute or relative decision making, increasing or decreasing their value as a witness. It is not used because there is a high likelihood that a witness will pick someone from the blank line up, effectively invalidating them as a witness. |
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Term
| What is wrong with the cold mugshot search method of suspect identification? |
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Definition
- mugshots create a negative bias
- waives the foils' right to a lawyer
- foils don't have an alibi -> identification must be followed up, even if unlikely |
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Term
| Describe the walk-through procedure method of suspect identification. Why is this a problematic method? |
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Definition
| Investigators find a way for the witness to 'inadvertently' see the suspect - ex. show up procedure -> the witness is taken to a place where the suspect can frequently be found. This biases the witness to make an identificaiton |
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Term
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Definition
| bias of an officer who enters interrogation already assuming the suspect is guilty -> increases likelihood of biasing interrogation |
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Term
| What are the 5 steps in the PEACE model of interrogation? |
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Definition
1. Planning and preparation
2. Engage and explain
3. Account
4. Closure
5. Evaluate |
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Term
| PEACE model of interrogation: Planning and Preparation |
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Definition
| Plan the interview and focus on areas where there is a lack of evidence, and gaps in the narrative |
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Term
| PEACE model of interrogation: Engage and explain |
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Definition
- engage: establish a rapport and introduce the circumstances
- explain: outline the reasons for the interview. inform the person that he is a suspect and he may be removed from suspicion --> half lie; they are likely the primary suspect and thought to be guilty |
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Term
| PEACE model of interrogation: Account |
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Definition
Obtain interviewee's recollection of events without interruption
- guilty suspect will likely lie, but don't accuse them of lying |
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Term
| PEACE model of interrogation: Closure |
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Definition
Maintain positive interviewer-interviewee relationship; no indictment of the suspect; communicate thanks and understanding
- ask if the suspect has any questions -> may cause suspicion |
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Term
| PEACE model of interrogation: Evaluate |
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Definition
| Make sure objectives were met; look for inconsistencies in the suspect's account; if necessary, create new interview based on interrogation -> next interview will be more accusatory and interrogation-like |
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Term
| the PEACE model interview is more _____ rather than accusatorial |
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Definition
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Term
| Standard interrogation techniques |
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Definition
- minimization (soft sell): give the suspect a false sense of security, ex. sympathy and excuses
- maximization (scare tactics): intimidation, ex. exaggerate seriousness, lie about evidence
- rapport building: flattery, offer a drink, be friendly, show respect -> different techniques for different people
environment: sound proof, bare ornamentation, stress inducing |
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Term
| What are the three parts of the Reid model of investigation? |
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Definition
1. Factual analysis: Gather evidence and interview witnesses/victims
2. The behaviour analysis interview: conduct a non-accusatory interview of the suspect (look for evidence of deception)
3. Conduct an accusatory interrogation of the suspect (9 steps) |
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Term
| What are the 9 steps of the Reid model of interrogation? |
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Definition
1. Confront the suspect with their guilt
2. Justify, rationalize, or excuse the crime
3. Interrupt denials immediately
4. Overcome objections when the suspect becomes quiet and withdrawn
5 Move closer to minimize withdrawal
6. Offer sympathy, empathy , and understanding, and make appeals to decency and morality
7. Offer face saving hypotheticals to make self-incrimination easier
8. Develop any agreement with hypotheticals into full confessions
9. Get a written and signed confession |
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Term
| What are some problems with the Reid model? |
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Definition
- detecting deception is extremely difficult and often inaccurate -> no baseline to judge their behaviour against
- investigator bias / confirmation bias: investigators likely to ignore evidence toward innocence -> leads to investigators putting more pressure on suspects, and more often viewing behaviour of innocent suspects as defensive
likely to provoke false confessions: the most damaging evidence that can be presented against someone |
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Term
| Under what conditions may a confession be excluded? |
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Definition
If elicited under conditions of:
- brute force
- prolonged isolation
- deprivations of food/sleep
- threats of harm or punishment
- promises of immunity/leniency
OR, if the person is not notified of their constitutional rights (s. 10, C.C.R.F.) |
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Term
| After eyewitness misidentification, what accounts for the most wrongful convictions? |
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Definition
| False confessions: more likely than people think, making it powerful evidence |
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Term
| Why might someone give a voluntary false confession? |
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Definition
| If they are part of a criminal organization, they confess for protection, or reward, if they want to provide an alibi for someone, or act out of fear or shame |
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Term
| Why might someone give a coerced-compliant false confession? |
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Definition
| as a means to escape the situation, or for some immediate reward - ex. going home |
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Term
| What might cause a coerced-internalized false confession? |
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Definition
| Creation of false memories leading to the belief that the person did commit the crime. Likely due to (1) history of substance abuse or interference with brain function, (2) inability to detect discrepancies between what is observed and suggested, (3)mental state factors - severe anxiety, confusion, shock, guilt (ex. survivor's guilt) |
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Term
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Definition
| measures one's desire to (a) please others and (b) avoid conflict and confrontation |
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Term
| If someone is highly resistant to false confession, how would they likely rate on the compliance scale? If they were prone to false confession? |
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Definition
| Low on compliance; high on compliance |
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Term
| What are the two aspects of the suggestibility scale? |
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Definition
Yield: susceptibility to give in to leading questions
Shift: the tendency to alter questions when put under pressure by an interviewer |
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Term
| What factors may alter suggestibility? |
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Definition
| Suggestibility increases as anxiety level increases and IQ decreases,likely related to rating on the compliance scale |
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Term
| Describe the study by Kassin and Sukel (1997) that demonstrated the impact of false confessions on jurors' verdicts |
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Definition
| Participants read 1 of 3 versions of a trial and had to come up with a verdict. The case consisted of a suspect who either confessed under high pressure, low pressure, or didn't confess (control). The confession was either ruled as admissible or inadmissible. Participants in the high pressure group saw the confession as less voluntary and reported it had less influence on their decisions. Participants correctly recalled the judge's ruling of admissible/inadmissible. However, the confessions were found to increase guilty verdicts, even when under high pressure, stricken from the record, and when jurors reported it had no influence on their decision. One possible explanation for this is that people think false confessions are much less likely than they actually are, making it difficult for them to discount them as evidence. |
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Term
| How does Eckman (1985) define lying? |
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Definition
| When a person intentionally misleads another, without prior notification of this intention, and without being asked to do so |
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Term
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Definition
| It is possible to detect deception by observing ways that physiological responses are inconsistent with verbal reports |
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Term
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Definition
| the danger of mistaking responses due to high stress and emotions with signs of deception |
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Term
| Why is it problematic to infer lying through behavioural analysis? |
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Definition
| Many of the behavioural indicators of lying can be explained by personality traits - ex. lack of eye contact may be because the person is shy, or could be a cultural sign of respect. A baseline of the person's behaviour - how they act normally - needs to be assessed before you can detect whether behaviour in the interrogation is abnormal |
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Term
| Neuro-linguistic lie detection |
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Definition
| the direction a person is looking might indicate what part of the brain they are accessing - up and left indicates visually constructed images; directly left indicates auditorily constructed images |
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Term
| Why is the polygraph not used as evidence in court? |
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Definition
| The polygraph is actually a test of autonomic arousal, not lying. It was ruled inadmissible as evidence by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1987 |
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Term
| Lie detection by voice analysis |
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Definition
| A spectrogram detects voice stress and tremors in voice pattern -> not legally admissible or scientifically accepted |
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Term
| Statement validity assessment |
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Definition
helps to distinguish truthfulness of witnesses, particularly children in sexual abuse cases
1. open ended interview (taped)
2. criteria-based content analysis -> 19 reality criteria (ex. detail and context)
3. Validity check-list (ex. age appropriate language, motivations) |
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Term
| What are some new measures of deception? |
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Definition
- Facial blood-flow
- Brain fingerprinting (P300 wave)
- Brain scan fMRI |
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Term
| Why was Romeo Phillion falsely imprisoned for so long? |
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Definition
| Phillion spent 31 years in prison for a crime he was innocent of for two main reasons: - he gave an uncoerced confession (to give his boyfriend an alibi) - he refused to admit to, or show remorse for his crime -> the focus of the Canadian justice system is rehabilitation |
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Term
| Describe the role of fitness to stand trial in the legal process |
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Definition
| A person must have the cognitive capacity to understand that he is on trail. Fitness can be raised at various points between time of arrest and sentencing, but is usually raised before trial begins. |
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Term
| How long does it take for fitness to stand trial to be determined? |
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Definition
| There is a 5 day limit, with a provision for extension; however, it usually takes around 3 weeks |
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Term
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Definition
Fitness Interview Test - Revised
- developed in Canada, applicable in the US, GB, and Canada
- semi-structured, with no strict cut-off scores
- must be conducted by a medical professional |
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Term
| What are the criteria by which the FIT-R determines fitness to stand trial? |
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Definition
| unable to: a) understand the nature and object of the proceedings b) understand the possible consequences of the proceedings c) communicate with counsel |
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Term
| FIT-R: Factual knowledge of the criminal procedure |
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Definition
a) understand the nature and object of the proceedings:
- understanding of the process, the nature/severity of the charge, the roles of different people, pleas, court procedure |
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Term
| FIT-R: Appreciation of personal involvement in and importance of the proceedings |
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Definition
b) understand the possible consequence of the proceedings
- appreciation of the possible penalties, appraisal of the legal defense and the likely outcome |
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Term
| FIT-R: Ability to participate in defense |
|
Definition
c) communicate with counsel: - ability to communicate with lawyer, challenge testimony
-> help the lawyer enough so that they can do their job |
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Term
| What three aspects are looked at when assessing fitness? |
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Definition
1. If the defendant has a mental illness
2. the defendant's capacity (score on the FIT-R)
3. Previous information |
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Term
| What precedent did R. v. Taylor (1992)set that changed how fitness was assessed in Ontario? |
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Definition
| Allowed the accused to stand trial so long as they have the 'limited cognitive capacity' required to allow the lawyer to properly present the case (satisfy 'c') -> need not have the ability to act in his/her best interest |
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Term
| Fitness to stand trial: balance of probabilities |
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Definition
| The accused is presumed fit unless it is more likely than not that they are unfit -> greater than a 50% chance |
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Term
| What three possibilities are there for someone who is deemed unfit to stand trial? |
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Definition
1. Conditional discharge: released on certain conditions
2. Detention order: criminally comitted without treatment
3. Treatment order: criminally committed with medication and treatment |
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Term
| Swain was found NCRMD and was detained for a number of years after he felt he was fully rehabilitated. What was the law changing result of this in R. v. Swain, 1991? |
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Definition
| Swain used his right to take any violation of the C.C.R.F. to court (s. 24(1)), claiming that his right against arbitrary confinement was infringed. The judge agreed, and gave the government 6 months to reform NCRMD law |
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Term
| What are the conditions for someone to be found NCRMD |
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Definition
| At the time of the crime they must: - have had a mental defect or disorder - not known what they were doing or - not known that what they were doing was wrong |
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Term
| Why is psychopathy not enough for someone to be found NCRMD? |
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Definition
| For someone to be found NCRMD, mens rea must not be present. If someone is a psychopath, they know the difference between right and wrong, therefore this disorder does not diminish evil intent |
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Term
| NCRMD is usually raised by the defense. Under what conditions might it be raised by the crown? |
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Definition
1. If the accused is found not guilty - raised to make sure the person is not set free
2. If the person is found guilty, but it is apparent they are in need of medical treatment |
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Term
| What are the three possible results of someone being found NCRMD? |
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Definition
If the person doesn't pose a threat:
1. Absolute discharge
2. Conditional discharge
If the person does pose a threat:
3. Criminal commitment |
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Term
| Why is it that someone criminally committed for unfitness to stand trial can be forced to receive treatment, whereas someone criminally committed after being found NCRMD cannot? |
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Definition
| Fitness to stand trial assesses current competency. If someone is unfit to stand trial, then they are not competent enough to decide their own treatment. If someone is found NCRMD then they must have been competent enough to stand trial, despite their disorder at the time of the crime. Therefore, unless found otherwise, they are competent enough to decide their own treatment. |
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Term
| How is the reality of the use and nature of NCRMD cases different than public perception? |
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Definition
| In reality fewer people use the defense (about 1% of cases), it is less successful (25% of the time), it more often leads to confinement, and confinement lasts longer. |
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|
Term
| How often do review boards review cases of the criminally committed? |
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Definition
| After the first 90 days of commitment, then once a year. |
|
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Term
| What do review boards for the criminally committed base their decisions on? |
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Definition
| - public safety - mental state of the defendant - ability of the defendant to reintegrate into society - other needs of the defendant |
|
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Term
| Why is it difficult for people to be released from criminal commitment, even if they have been rehabilitated? |
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Definition
| The review board mostly looks at static properties - ex. the trial transcript, history of illness - making dynamic properties like the person's current condition carry less weight |
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Term
|
Definition
| Capping: the maximum amount of time a person with a mental illness can be said to be affected by their dispositions -> 10 years for violent crimes, the same as the maximum prison term |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| power of the state; common law creation whereby the courts have the right to make unfettered decisions concerning people who are not able to take care themselves |
|
|
Term
| What are the (general) conditions for civil commitment? |
|
Definition
| If someone is deemed a danger to the self or others |
|
|
Term
| Under what conditions is a therapist / doctor required to breach their confidentiality agreement? |
|
Definition
- If the person reports committing child / sexual abuse, or if a child reports being abused
- duty to warn: if the client is planning to cause harm to someone, then the doctor/therapist must warn the person in danger (Tarsoff v. the Regents of California, 1976) |
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Term
| What are 8 key differences between psychology and law? |
|
Definition
| Stare decisis v. creativity; hierarchical v. empirical; adversarial v. experiential; prescriptive v. descriptive; ideographic v. nomothetic; certainty v. probabilistic; reactive v. proactive; operational v. academic |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| Using psychology to develop tools that can be used in the courtroom or during investigation - ex. developing questionnaires, interview techniques |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| critically evaluating assumptions made in law - ex. the assumption that juries are not prejudiced |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| study of the law and the psychology behind it within historical context |
|
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Term
|
Definition
- Used in most British countries and North America
- based on stare decisis (precedence)
-> laws are created by cases, and ultimately the judges who decide these cases
- adversarial system of litigation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The most prominent law system in the world - used in most European countries
- rulings are based on statutes: laws written down in abstract, and applied to specific cases |
|
|
Term
| Describe Canada's legal system with relation to Common and Civil law |
|
Definition
Canada is a common law country, however there are statutes for criminal law. These statues are used as a starting point, but precedence is still cited
- private/civil law does not have any statues i.e. it is Common law and everything is based on stare decisis
- Quebec is the only exception; it has civil laws for both criminal and non-criminal cases |
|
|
Term
| Describe the hierarchical structure of Canada's court system |
|
Definition
Supreme Court of Canada has precedence over:
1. Provincial Court of Appeal
-> Provincial/territorial superior court
-> Provincial courts
2. Federal Court of Appeal
-> Federal court |
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