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This first volume of an exciting annual series presents important new developments in the psychology behind issues in the law and its applications. Psychological theory is used to explore why many current legal policies and procedures can be ineffective or counterproductive, with special emphasis on new findings on how witnesses, jurors, and suspects may be influenced, sometimes leading to injustice. Expert scholars make recommendations for improvements, suggesting both future directions for research inquiries on topics and needed policy changes. Topics included in this initial offering have rarely been considered in such an in-depth fashion or are in need of serious re-thinking:Interrogation of minority suspects: pathways to true and false confessions.A comprehensive evaluation of showups.The weapon focus effect for person identifications and descriptions.The psychology of criminal jury instructions. Structured risk assessment and legal decision making.Children¿s participation in legal proceedings: stress, coping, and consequences.Sex offender policy and prevention.The psychology of tort law.Demonstrating the scope and rigor that will characterize the series, Volume 1 of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest psychology and legal experts as well as practicing psychologists, and will inspire fresh thinking as the two fields continue to interact.

As with its esteemed predecessor, this timely volume offers ways of applying psychological knowledge to address pressing concerns in legal procedures and potentially to reduce criminal offending. In such areas as interrogations, expert testimony, evidence admissibility, and the ¿death qualification¿ process in capital trials, contributors offer scientific bases for trends in suspect, witness, and juror behavior and identify those practices liable to impinge on just outcomes. Recommendations span a wide range of research, practice, and policy areas, from better approaches to assessment to innovative strategies for reducing recidivism. The interdisciplinary perspectives of these chapters shed salient light on both the reach of the issues and possibilities for intervening to improve the functioning of the justice system.Among the topics covered: · The validity of pleading guilty.· The impact of emotions on juror judgments and decision making.· The content, purpose, and effects of expert testimony on interrogation practices and suspect confessions.· A synthetic perspective on the own-race bias in eyewitness identification.· Risk-reducing interventions for justice-involved individuals.· Criminal justice and psychological perspectives on deterring gangs.As a means to spur research and discussion, and to inspire further collaboration between the fields, Volume 2 of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest and intrigue researchers and practitioners in law-psychology as well as practicing attorneys, trial consultants, and clinical psychologists.

This first volume of an exciting annual series presents important new developments in the psychology behind issues in the law and its applications. Psychological theory is used to explore why many current legal policies and procedures can be ineffective or counterproductive, with special emphasis on new findings on how witnesses, jurors, and suspects may be influenced, sometimes leading to injustice. Expert scholars make recommendations for improvements, suggesting both future directions for research inquiries on topics and needed policy changes. Topics included in this initial offering have rarely been considered in such an in-depth fashion or are in need of serious re-thinking:Interrogation of minority suspects: pathways to true and false confessions.A comprehensive evaluation of showups.The weapon focus effect for person identifications and descriptions.The psychology of criminal jury instructions. Structured risk assessment and legal decision making.Children's participation in legal proceedings: stress, coping, and consequences.Sex offender policy and prevention.The psychology of tort law.Demonstrating the scope and rigor that will characterize the series, Volume 1 of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest psychology and legal experts as well as practicing psychologists, and will inspire fresh thinking as the two fields continue to interact.

The latest entry in this noteworthy series continues its focus on psychological issues relating to legal and judicial matters, with sound recommendations for situational and system-wide improvement. Salient concerns are described both in areas where their existence is frequently acknowledged (juror impartiality, the juvenile justice system) and where they are rarely considered (Miranda warnings, forensic mental health experts). Authors describe differences between professional and lay concepts of justice principles--and the resulting disconnect between community sentiment and the law. Throughout these chapters, psychological nuances and their legal implications are made clear as they relate to lawyers, jurors, suspects, and victims. Included among the topics:· From the headlines to the jury room: an examination of the impact of pretrial publicity on jurors and juries.· Victim impact statements in capital sentencing: 25 years post-Payne.· Psychology and the Fourth Amendment.· Examining the presenting characteristics, short-term effects, and long-term outcomes associated with system-involved youths.· Indigenous youth crime: an international perspective.· An empirical analysis of law-psychology journals: who's publishing and on what? As with the others in the series, this third volume of Advances in Psychology and Law will interest researchers in legal psychology and related disciplines (e.g., criminal justice) as well as practicing attorneys, trial consultants, and clinical psychologists.