Motion section arguing that an adolescent client’s history of exposure to trauma is a factor in the voluntariness analysis that should lead to suppression of a confession
This draft motion section relies on psychological and neuroscientific research to argue that young people who have been exposed to trauma behave differently when interrogated and are more likely to give false, unreliable, and involuntary confessions such that past exposure to trauma should be an important factor in the voluntariness analysis. Pages 2-3: Youth with […]
Amicus brief (a) explaining why Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma (SBS/AHT) diagnoses are not legitimate, (b) discussing the importance of biomechanical engineering experts in debunking the validity of SBS/AHT, and (c) collecting research about the causes of false confessions and forensic confirmation biases
Pg. 13 – noting that there is no reliable scientific study validating the hypothesis that shaking alone can cause bleeding in the brain and eyes and neurological impairment; accidents can cause these symptoms Pg. 14 – discussing thirty documented exonerations of innocent people wrongfully convicted based on shaken baby syndrome (and in 13% of those […]
Amicus Brief – Interrogation Techniques Contributing to False Confessions
Filed by the American Psychological Association, this brief overviews specific interrogation techniques (maximization, minimization, and sleep deprivation) that contribute to false confessions, as well as research showing that young people are particularly likely to falsely confess.
Amicus brief in support of admitting expert testimony on the science of false memories in a child sexual abuse prosecution
Pgs. 7-8 – summarize scientific research describing how people create entirely false memories, a study of false memory creation, and a list of false memory risk factors, particularly for children. Pgs. 9-10 – explain how interview techniques can create false memories in children, even false memories that do not seem to directly relate to the […]
Susceptibility of Adolescents to Influence
p. 18 – 23 incorporate research about the high susceptibility of adolescents to persuasion, especially by police. Amici argues that this makes adolescents more likely than adults to give false information to authority figures. Includes research on how adolescents respond to authority under stress.
Expert Report – False Confessions
Report overviews existing research on false confessions and specific risk factors for false confessions.
