Forensic and Legal Psychology - Exam1 (Costanzo/Krauss 2ed)

Forensic and Legal Psychology - Exam1 (Costanzo/Krauss 2ed) Adversarial System - ANS A system of justice in which opposing parties present competing versions of the evidence in an effort to win a favorable judgment. In the United States, a trial is an adversarial proceeding because lawyers (adversaries) compete to win a verdict in their favor. The American legal system assumes that truth will emerge through a contest between adversaries who present opposing interpretations of the evidence to a neutral fact finder (a jury or judge). Amicus Curiae Brief - ANS "Friend of the court" brief. A written document submitted to the court by parties with no direct involvement, but a strong interest in the case. The American Psychological Association has submitted such briefs to summarize relevant research and to clarify the overall meaning of a set of findings. Brandeis Brief - ANS A legal, argumentative document submitted by Louis Brandeis to the 1908 U.S. Supreme Court in Muller v. Oregon. The brief incorporated medical, scientific, and government reports that favored a particular party in the litigation. This document set a precedent for the courts to consider research in their decisions. Brief - ANS Written documents submitted by parties to a judge or panel of judges. Typically, a brief offers interpretations of relevant law and summarizes facts and arguments for a party to the dispute. Code of Professional Responsibility - ANS A set of ethical rules, developed by the American Bar Association (ABA), governing the conduct of lawyers. It requires lawyers to "represent their clients zealously within the bounds of the law." It focuses on the legal efficacy of an argument as opposed to its veracity. Culture - ANS A set of shared basic assumptions about the relative importance of competing goals, how disputes should be resolved, and what procedures to follow in striving for goals. Daubert Trilogy - ANS Three specific court cases - Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993); General Electric Co. v. Joiner (1997); and Kumho Tire Ltd. v. Carmichael (1999) - that expanded the role of the judge as gatekeeper. Together, their precedents delegated authority to the trial judge for evaluating the validity and relevance of proposed expert testimony and determining its admissibility in court. Empirical Legal Studies - ANS An early twenty-first century movement in law schools in which law is studied through data collection and research analyst.