Explore the factors that may contribute to faulty recollections in cases involving delayed outcries of abuse, especially in children
Decades of scientific research have conclusively established the unreliable and suggestive nature of human memory. This program will summarize the factors that may contribute to faulty recollections in cases involving delayed outcries of abuse, especially in children. The presenter will provide a general overview of how memory does (and doesn't) work and then apply these limitations to real-world cases.
Key topics to be discussed:â–ª A quick overview of what memory is, and more importantly, what it isn't, presented in a way that a jury can quickly understand.â–ª A review of the literature addressing the limitations and suggestibility of child witnesses.â–ª Review of several real-world cases involving delayed outcries, and how the presenter applied the literature to these cases.
Professor of Psychology
Trent Terrell has been a professor of psychology at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX since 2008. He has published numerous papers on eyewitness memory and eyewitness identification. Trent has testified as a memory expert in over 40 criminal cases in Texas, and consulted on over 150, ranging from petty theft to capital murder. He has given CLEs on eyewitness memory to the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the National District Attorneys Association in Houston, and the Center for American and International Law in Plano, TX. He has also given online CLEs to Lawline, LawPractice CLE, and MyLaw CLE. Trent has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a master’s degree in Neuroscience, and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology, all from Baylor University. He lives in Temple, TX with his wife Rosemary and their three children.
