Local Chapter

Upcoming Visiting Scholar presentation:

Thursday, 7 Feb. 2019, 7:30 p.m., Brattain Auditorium (Science 100) 

Visiting Scholar Dan Simon will speak about "The Limited Accuracy of Evidence Used in the Criminal Process"

Given the pressing societal need to punish criminal behavior and the solemn nature of depriving people of their liberty and even life, the accuracy of criminal verdicts is said to be of paramount importance.  In this vein, the investigative phase is entrusted with uncovering evidence that bears on the defendant's guilt and the adjudicative phase is entrusted with the diagnostic task of ascertaining whether that evidence is correct or false. This talk will focus on the claim that the evidence produced during the investigative phase comprises an unknown mix of accurate and erroneous testimony, and thus does not always correctly reflect the actual criminal event.

Dan Simon is the Richard L. and Maria B. Crutcher Professor of Law  and Psychology at the University of Southern California.  

He is the author of In Doubt: The Psychology of the Criminal Justice Process; his research focuses on reasoning and decision making.