Applied eyewitness research: The other mission.

Abstract

We have argued that ongoing debates in the eyewitness literature risk leaving readers with the impression that the sole purpose of eyewitness research lies in the ability of eyewitness experts to assist the triers of fact in evaluating eyewitness accuracy. However, there is a broader mission of much eyewitness research that is often overlooked in these debates. System variable research seeks not to improve the accuracy of juror discriminations, but to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications. The fundamental distinction between a system variable and an expert testimony approach is one of procedural versus distributive justice. Most of the criticisms regarding expert testimony on the reliability of eyewitness identifications become irrelevant when the focus is shifted onto procedural justice concerns.