Putting Cognitive Science to Work in the Legal System: An Evidence Based Approach to Testimony Evaluation and Beyond

这项研究计划将侧重于使用法律、心理学和神经科学的方法来检查如何在刑事司法系统中评估目击证人陈述的可信度、准确性和总体可靠性，并设计新的做法和程序来提高此类评估的准确性。这项研究将审查刑事案件审查委员会(CCRC)和非专业决策者(陪审员)的决定，并将与从业人员伙伴合作进行。作为这项研究的一部分，将与刑事上诉中心合作创建一个新的“认知科学和经验法”实验室，以促进认知科学更广泛地融入法律实践。这有可能通过以循证的做法和程序取代陈旧和过时的传统来改变司法工作。研究的第一阶段将审查非专业人士和刑事案件审查委员会(CCRC)如何在当前系统中评估其他人的证词，以及此类评估可能与基于科学证据的评估相一致或不一致。研究将包括(I)确定符合陪审团资格的成年人和CCRC在评估证词时所作的共同假设，以及这些假设在多大程度上是一致的科学理解；(Ii)使用心理学理论和实验研究来确定在哪些情况下对证人陈述的评估很可能是基于误解或没有将相关信息纳入决策；以及(Iii)使用心理学和神经科学的工具来研究评估证词的认知基础，以及某些假设或偏见可能如何与潜在的神经机制相关联。第二阶段的研究将评估当前的实践和程序，并根据第一阶段的研究结果和相关的心理学理论制定实践和程序的建议。重要的是，研究表明，向决策者通报相关科学可能不足以提高他们评估的有效性，可能需要更多微妙的干预措施。所有干预措施都将与目前的法律从业人员协商设计，并在模拟审判中进行测试。这项工作有别于许多现有的心理学和法学研究，后者没有将对记忆和决策的深入检查与改进的法律程序的设计结合起来，并以未被证明具有预期效果的方式纳入法律系统(例如通过司法警告)。研究方案的最后阶段将侧重于将我的调查结果纳入当前的法律实践，以便产生直接影响。这将包括与从业人员合作，设计法律论据，并利用网络分析等统计技术来确定可能最有效的干预措施。将设立一个“认知科学和经验法”实验室，以促进这项研究，并促进认知科学和经验法更广泛地融入法律实践。该实验室将进行独立研究，并将与刑事上诉中心合作，开展将直接惠及当前案件工作的研究。训练有素的学生研究助理将协助实验室进行研究。这将有助于促进科学和法律在未来的科学家和法律从业人员中的融合。

This programme of research will focus on using methods from law, psychology, and neuroscience to examine how the credibility, accuracy, and overall reliability of eye-witness accounts are assessed in the criminal justice system, and to design new practice and procedure to enhance the accuracy of such evaluations. The research will examine decisions of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and lay decision-makers (jurors) and will be conducted in collaboration with practitioner partners. As part of this research a new "Cognitive Science and Empirical Law" laboratory will be created in collaboration with the Centre for Criminal Appeals, to promote the integration of cognitive science into legal practice more generally. This has the potential to transform the administration of justice by replacing old and outdated traditions with evidence-based practice and procedure. The first stage of the research will examine how laypeople and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) evaluate the testimony of others in the current system, and where such evaluations are likely to agree or disagree with assessments based on scientific evidence. Research will include (i) identifying common assumptions that are made by jury-eligible adults and the CCRC when evaluating testimony, and the extent to which these assumptions are consistent scientific understanding, (ii) using psychological theory and experimental research to identify situations in which assessments of witness accounts are likely to be based on misunderstandings or failure to incorporate relevant information into decision-making, and (iii) using tools from psychology and neuroscience to examine the cognition underlying assessments of testimony and how certain assumptions or biases may be associated with underlying neural mechanisms. The second stage of the research will assess current practice and procedure, and formulate recommendations for practice and procedure based on findings from the first stage of the research and relevant psychological theory. Importantly, research suggests that informing decision-makers of relevant science may not be sufficient to improve the effectiveness of their evaluations, and more nuanced interventions are likely to be needed. All interventions will be designed in consultation with current legal practitioners and tested in mock trials. This distinguishes the work from much existing research in psychology and law, which has not combined in-depth examination of memory and decision-making with the design of improved legal procedure and has been incorporated into the legal system in ways that are not proven to have desired effects (e.g. through judicial warnings). The final stage of the research programme will focus on integrating my findings into current legal practice in order to have a direct impact. This will include working with practitioners, designing legal arguments, and utilizing statistical techniques such as network analyses to identify the interventions that are likely to be most effective. A "Cognitive Science and Empirical Law" laboratory will be created in order to facilitate this research and also to promote the integration of cognitive science and empirical law into legal practice more generally. This laboratory will conduct independent research, and will also work in collaboration with the Centre for Criminal Appeals to conduct research that will directly benefit current casework. Trained student research assistants will assist with research in the laboratory. This will serve to facilitate the integration of science and the law in future scientists and legal practitioners.