Comments: Hypnosis in Court: A New Twist on the Old Memory Game

Law enforcement personnel have increasingly employed hypnotists to aid their criminal investigations. Under hypnosis, a witness who cannot remember a traumatic criminal encounter can be helped to resurrect the emotionally suppressed recall. Unfortunately, due to the inability of the hypnotic process to produce consistently reliable results, courts have expressed a reluctance to admit these memories into evidence. This comment examines how various jurisdictions have chosen to address the accuracy problems associated with hypno-enhanced memories.

The article begins with a historical sketch of the treatment accorded hypnosis in related cases, and discusses the merit of each approach. Concluding that none of these judicial strategies has effectively resolved the issue, the author offers a novel approach aimed at finding a more appropriate resolution of the hypnosis controversy.