Use of Hypnosis in Courts or Trials Research Paper

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this class is a criminal justice class and my topic is hypnosis. Research paper must be about hypnosis in the context of it being used for trial/ court purposes.

Paper must be 10 pages NOT including title page and references

expected to identify and analyze an evidence issue, discuss any leading cases, and evidence rules that apply, address public policy implications of the case/rules, and evaluate the practical impact they may have on trials in general.

must be written in APA6 format and must have 6 scholarly articles in addition to the cases that are referenced (law review articles will serve well here).

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Explanation & Answer

Hello, attached is the complete paper. let me know in case of any issue

Running head: HYPNOSIS IN COURTS/TRIALS

The use of Hypnosis in Courts or Trials
Institution
Date

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HYPNOSIS IN COURTS/TRIALS

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The use of Hypnosis in criminal investigations is a controversial, yet highly debated
topic. Whereas there is no legal definition of the same, hypnosis can be described as a procedure
through which a witness consciousness is altered to enable them to remember past occurrences.
Witnesses go through hypnosis so as to increase their concentration levels which helps the
hypnotists to unearth key details about a past occurrence or a crime. Through Hypnosis, the
witness is the able to focus without interruption of the hypnotist who helps him to recollect his
memory as he responds to interviews and questions that are related to the crime which he can’t
recollect while he is conscious (Binyaminy & Haas 2016). The concept of hypnosis was
discovered as early as 1734. However, its application in the criminal justice system remains
limited, due to the controversies surrounding this technique.
The use of Hypnosis in criminal investigations is based on the belief that, in their normal
state, human beings are bound to lie or forget key details about a crime or its perpetrator.
Hypnotists believe that by using this technique, they can reach a person’s subconscious mind,
and get memories about their past events (Paterline, 2016). While Hypnosis is used both in the
health as well as in the legal profession, its use in the legal sphere has raised concerns. For
therapists, Hypnosis can help them to understand past traumas and experiences of a victim, and
in the process help them to cope with this unfortunate occurrence. In criminal investigations, the
case is entirely different. For instance, there is always disagreement on whether a hypnotized
person can succinctly recall events without distortion (Lippman, 2015). As opposed to
therapeutic hypnosis whose aim is to help a victim recover from unfortunate occurrences,
criminal investigations hypnosis is used to determine whether or not a person was responsible for
a crime.

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In general, an individual can be hypnotized to varying degrees. In this case, it is very easy
to have a hypnotized person to lie willfully. On the other hand, hypnoses can have a greater
effect on the individual's memory if the hypnotist chooses to use highly emotional materials.
There are issues that arise from the two main methods that are used to hypnotize a witness. First,
the use of suggestion technique issues arises because there is a tendency for patients to accept the
events suggested by the hypnotist as the real facts. This means that individuals tend to fill any
memory gaps with the events that were suggested by the hypnotist (Binyaminy& Haas 2016).
The use of regression method also has one major problem where it becomes extremely difficult
for even trained personnel to conclude as to whether individuals under hypnosis are retrieving an
actual memory or confabulating.
It is believed that Hypnosis can help prosecutors get crucial information that might help
them to identify and punish culprits of a crime. In criminal investigations, information obtained
via hypnosis can be put into several uses. First, it can be used to unearth finer details that will aid
in the acquisition of more information by the prosecution. Secondly, hypnosis can be used to get
an accused to confess to taking part in criminal activity. Lastly, the information can be used to
obtain exculpatory statements, which will be in favour of the defendant (Lippman, 2015).
Initially, the majority of US courts maintained that evidence collected through this method was
not admissible in the court of law. However, recently, the majority of these courts have deviated
from this belief, and are willing to admit such evidence, provided certain laid out procedures are
followed.
Despite the controversies surrounding Hypnosis, several US courts still regard Hypnosis
as a key part of the criminal investigations. For most of them, Hypnosis allows an individual to
succinctly recall past events, which seemingly can be compared to watching a movie of their past

HYPNOSIS IN COURTS/TRIALS

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events (Paterline, 2016). In most of these courts, hypnosis is treated as a videotape of past
occurrences, which allows a victim to identify the perpetrators of crime easily. At times the
human mind can store information faithfully, and avail it to us when needed. However, treating a
human mind like a video camera ...


Anonymous
Very useful material for studying!

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