Factors Impacting the Reliability of Eyewitnesses: Field IDs, photospreads, and the complications of social media

The Science of Eyewitness Memory is a fascinating field of study that looks at how reliable a person’s memory can be when it comes to identifying someone. It is important to understand the limitations of human memory, such as how quickly details can be forgotten and how easily memories can be distorted. Research has identified a number of factors that can affect the reliability of an eyewitness identification, such as poor lighting, stress levels, and prior knowledge about the suspect. Case examples of field identifications have been used to illustrate how these factors can influence the accuracy of an eyewitness ID. With the rise of social media, experts are also exploring the potential for eyewitness identifications to be based on seeing a person’s face in a photo or video on social media. This adds another layer of complexity to the science of eyewitness memory.

This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.

Key topics to be discussed:

• A Quick Recap of The Science Of Eyewitness Memory
  • Limitations of Human Memory
  • Factors known to limit Eyewitness ID reliability
• Field Identifications with case Examples
• A discussion of “Social Media” IDs

Date: February 20, 2023

Closed-captioning available