The Science of False Memory.

• Author: Wallace, Steven
• Position: Book review

The Science of False Memory

By C.J. Brainerd and V.F. Reyna

In October 2005, when The Florida Bar Journal published my article "The Science of Memory," a book was just being released of which I was unaware. It dissects the phenomenon of false memory, an area of study that mushroomed in the 1990s and has now taken front stage in explaining problems that infect the fact-finding process in our courtrooms.

"The Puzzle of Memory" dealt with the divergence of truth and accuracy in witness testimony. It pointed out that memory is not a mere playback of an imprinted vision, like some tape recorder. It is a highly complicated and fallible faculty, affected by multiple elements that can cause it to be accurate though not necessarily dishonest.

False memory, as Brainerd and Reyna explain it, is not merely memory fallibility or forgetting: It refers to circumstances where one is possessed of positive, definite memories of an event that did not happen, or happened at least, differently than that reflected by memory. Given the number of courtroom trials that involve the testimony of eyewitness identifications, especially where there is a paucity of other physical evidence, this book is a must-read for any lawyer who anticipates standing to cross-examine a witness, and for the judges who preside over these trials.

The book notes numerous examples of studies revealing wrongful convictions based upon false identifications. It reviews all past and current theoretical explanations of false memory. Most importantly, it details the difficulties encountered by practitioners in the criminal justice system, from criminal investigators to the ultimate fact finders, when dealing with--and attempting to avoid--the phenomena of false memory.

Two particular areas of criminal investigation--witness interviews and eyewitness identifications--have been extensively studied. Both are noted to be leading causes of false convictions. Most particularly in cases lacking supportive physical evidence, this book shows clearly how suggestive, manipulative, and other dubious investigative techniques can hamper the truth-finding process unalterably. Many specific examples of suggestive features of criminal investigative interviews are reviewed which can readily produce false memories in both witnesses as well as defendants (false confessions). Our dependence upon such potentially tainted memories in courts of law is enough to give even the most stalwart prosecutor pause. The fact is...