9320960 CUTLER Public trust in the process of trial by jury rests on peoples' perceptions of the fairness of trial procedures and the accuracy of trial outcomes. Behavioral science methodology can be used to assess the fairness and accuracy of trial procedures, to make recommendations for improving those procedures, and ultimately to enhance peoples' faith in the justice system. This research focuses on one of the most common elements of criminal and civil trials: eyewitness testimony. By bringing behavioral science data to bear on the effectiveness of traditional legal safeguards designed to ensure the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, this research will make concrete and practical recommendations concerning trial procedure. In this series of experiments the PIs systematically examine attorney, judge and jury sensitivity to the factors that influence the quality of identifications tests and their abilities to use this information to properly evaluate the utility of eyewitness testimony. The methodology involves exposing practicing attorneys to simulated line-up identification tests, judges to simulated motions to suppress identification testimony, and experienced jurors to simulated trials, and recording their reactions to and evaluations of the fairness of the procedures and the likely accuracy of the eyewitness testimony. ***
