Evidence - Look into My Eyes: The Admissibility of Hypnotic-Enhanced Testimony - Sprynczunatyk v. General Motors Corp.
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Authors
Sharp, Lance D.
Issue Date
1986
Volume
19
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|Hypnosis has been accepted as a therapeutic tool since 1958. Recently, there have been numerous attempts to use hypnosis to enhance a witness' in-court testimony. As a result of these attempts, there is a great deal of confusion as to the admissibility and value of hypnotic-enhanced testimony. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently confronted this issue in Sprynczynatyk v. General Motors Corp., where the court allowed hypnotic-enhanced testimony into evidence after certain procedural safeguards had been met.|This Note begins with an explanation of hypnosis and its reliability for memory recall. The three judicial approaches to the admissibility of hypnotic enhanced testimony are then discussed: (1) the inadmissible-per se approach; (2) the affecting-credibility-but-not-admissibility approach; and (3) the procedural-safeguard approach. Finally, this Note will analyze the Eighth Circuit's decision in Sprynczynatyk and the problems surrounding hypnotic-enhanced testimony most likely to be encountered in the future...
Description
Citation
19 Creighton L. Rev. 995 (1985-1986)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law