PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW Psychology XL 187

Transcription

1 PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW Psychology XL 187 Spring Quarter, 2013 Wednesdays: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. UCLA Public Affairs Building Room 2242 Scott C. Fraser, Ph.D., Professor Office Hours: Available by Appointment Phone: (310) CEL: (213) Mr. James R. Harris, Assistant to Dr. Fraser Available for consultation: Phone: (310) / Ms. Nancy Ghov, UCLA Extension Program Representative: Phone: (310) One who goes to the law holds a wolf by the ears Jonathan Swift Where there is law, there is injustice Talmudic saying American lawyers sometimes tell the truth. They will do anything to win a case A Vietnamese Judge, Hanoi, 2009 The role of psychology and psychiatry in legal systems has evolved in significantly different ways in various domains of law over the last half of the 20 th century and the beginning of this century. As scientific research has focused on applied issues in this field, empirical findings and scientific theory have had increasing influence on both jurisprudence and law enforcement practice. This course will review the substantial accumulation of research from a wide range of methodologies that relate to decisions of justice in both civil and criminal law. Throughout the course, there will be emphasis on how results of scientific investigations are actually related to and used by the judiciary and police. Varying perspectives of professionals on the utility and promise of social science research for the law will be presented and evaluated. Part of the course focuses on empirical principles of human physiology, perception, memory, and cognition related to civil and criminal jurisprudence. It will include exploration of research on coerced confessions, courtroom procedures, eyewitness recall and recognition, gangs and the juvenile justice system, judicial and jury decision making, repeat offenders and serial killers, police investigations techniques, pretrial evaluation procedures, responsibility and liability judgments in civil litigation, family law and administrative hearing processes, and prisons and rehabilitation programs. Another part of the course reviews contributions from clinical research and the roles of mental health professionals in legal proceedings. Among the topics in this portion of the presentations will be assessments of competency, dangerousness, insanity, and malingering, child abuse determinations, false vs. repressed memory issues, custody and family law evaluations, criminal psychopathology, mediation in dispute resolution, lawmandated treatment programs, protection of vulnerable populations such as children, disabled persons, and mentally ill individuals, and the legal obligations and ethical standards for mental health professionals involved in jurisprudence.

2 PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW//XL187 UCLA//Spring, 2013 Page 2 Student Records: Students can access and update student records online by visiting and clicking on My.Extension on the left navigation bar, selecting Student s Course Essentials and following the directions to log in. Student Course Essentials lets you view your grades, request an official transcript, change credit status on a current course, obtain enrollment verification, update your personal information, etc. STUDENT CONDUCT: Upon enrolling in this course, all students are expected to review and comply with the Student Conduct and Sexual Harassment information provided in the current Quarterly catalog (print or online) under General Information. As a courtesy for all individuals in the class, please silence all cell phones during the class period and refrain from texting. ACCOMMODATIONS: If you need any accommodations for a disability, please contact the UCLA Extension Disabled Student Services at: (310) or via access@uclaextension.edu. Escort service from the class room to parking areas or campus residences is available from UCLA to any student at night. You can arrange for an escort to meet you with a phone call one hour or more prior to the end of any class. To request this service, you should use the following numbers: Any On-Campus Phone---4-WALK (49255) Non-Campus Phone---(310) GRADING Grades will be based on the student s performance on three examinations throughout the term. Each test will consist of objective questions, e.g. true-false, multiple-choice, and fill-in items. Each examination will cover the content of required text readings and classroom presentations since the previous test. Each test will be worth the same possible point total. There will be no cumulative final examination. CLASS MEETING FORMAT Class presentations will employ lectures, audio-video selections, and, when available, talks by noteworthy professionals in the psychology and law interfaces, e.g. police training academy leaders, police detectives, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, civil litigators, family law practitioners, research and expert witness scientists, and clinicians experienced in providing services in the legal system.

3 PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW//XL187 UCLA//Spring 2013 Page 3 TEXTS AND ASSIGNED READINGS Weekly reading assignments related to the class presentation topics will be issued from the texts listed below. Additional lists of references for students interested in exploring more extensively the topic under review will be made available upon request. REQUIRED TEXTS Greene, E. and Heilbrun, K. (2014) Wrightsman s Psychology and the Legal System. Eighth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. (PLS) Turow, S. (2003) Ultimate Punishment. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (UP) Warden, R. (2005) Wilkie Collins s The Dead Alive. Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press. OPTIONAL/RECOMMENDED TEXT (DA) Monk, L.R. (2003) The Words We Live By. New York: Hyperion Books. (WWLB) SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS, TOPICS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND EXAMINATIONS WEEK 1: Explanations of Behavior (4/03/13) Causal Principles: Power of the Situation video Attribution Principles The Fundamental Attribution Error Biases in human reason and decision making One of my best students ever The Arms Trader from NPR s This American Life Anatomy of a criminal trial you thought you knew well The O.J. Verdict video Required Reading: PLS Chapters 1 and 2 Recommended Reading: WWLB Part I

4 PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW//XL187 UCLA//Spring 2013 Page 4 WEEK 2: Structure and Practices of Legal Systems (4/10/13) American Jurisprudence Alternative Systems of Law Overview History: Social science research s impact on law Case examples in criminal and civil cases Jury Systems: How they do and do not operate Inside the Jury Room video Required Reading: PLS Chapters 12 and 13 Recommended Reading: WWLB Part II WEEK 3: Psychological Assessments in Civil and Criminal Cases (4/17/13) Juvenile dependency and adjudications Juvenile Justice video When Kids Get Life documentary Custody issues: Parenting capabilities and child needs Competency and insanity judgments Commitment and risk prediction Required Reading: PLS Chapters 10 and 11 WEEK 4: EXAMINATION #1 (4/24/13) Test covers all required readings and class presentations to date. Test will include objective items (true-false, multiplechoice and fill-in). WEEK 5: Law Enforcement (5/01/13) Selection of police applicants Training programs and principles Vocational demands and hazards Police and the community Post-Arrest Pre-Trial Procedures and Decisions Psychology of Eliciting Confessions The Central Park Jogger Case video Required Reading: PLS Chapters 3 and 4

5 PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW//XL187 UCLA// Spring 2013 Page 5 WEEK 6: Victims and Witnesses (5/08/12) Sensation, perception, and memory processes System variables and memories Assessing investigation techniques Presumed Guilty: Tales of the Public Defenders video Murder on a Sunday Morning documentary Required Reading: PLS Chapter 5 and 7 WEEK 7: Victims and Witnesses (continued) (5/15/13) Eyewitness memory processes Post-observation influences Recall and recognition measures Post-retrieval processes I will never forget that face!: What Jennifer Saw video Profiling and investigatory selection procedures Required Reading: PLS Chapter 8 DA All WEEK 8: EXAMINATION #2 (5/22/13) Test covers all required readings and class presentations since Examination #1. WEEK 9: Child abuse and child victim cases (5/29/13) Empirically-based predictors of true and false allegations Child victim witnesses Horror in molestation cases: Capturing the Friedmans Janet Reno s most famous case: Did Daddy Do It? video Required Reading: PLS Chapter 6

6 PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LAW//XL187 UCLA//Spring 2012 Page 6 WEEK 10: Investigations and End Results of Jurisprudence (6/05/13) Suspects, victims, and the legal system Sentences, goals, and consequences The New Asylums documentary Death penalty and culture Required Reading: PLS Chapter 14 UP All WEEK 11: Aftermaths (6/12/13) Societal post-trial reactions and obligations Criminals and the penal system Adjudication process, consequences, and cultural goals Ethical issues and dilemmas in sentence decisions Required Reading: PLS Chapter 15 and 9 WEEK 12: EXAMINATION #3 (6/19/12) Test covers all required readings and class presentations since Examination #2