How memory works.
Why it matters in court.
Memory is a critical issue in most criminal and civil cases that attorneys need to consider when crafting their theory of the case.
The goal of this web resource is to provide you with an accessible review of memory encoding, storage and retrieval.
Remembering an event is a reconstruction, shaped by what a person noticed at the time and what happened afterward. These materials connect that basic process with practical questions about witness accounts: how emotion, intoxication and suggestive questioning affect recall; why vividness and confidence need careful interpretation; and how identification procedures can influence recognition. Brief explanations and research excerpts give attorneys a way to explore the circumstances behind an account, rather than judging reliability from detail or certainty alone.
Principles of Memory
Introduces encoding, storage, retrieval and types of memory. The distinction between recalling an event and finding something familiar provides a foundation for the more detailed discussions of eyewitness accounts.
Topics in Memory
Explores forgetting, aging, face recognition and lineup construction. Excerpts from several authoritative sources on each topic offer additional perspectives on the research and its interpretation.
Quirks of Memory
An interesting, brief exploration of peculiar research findings, including confirmation bias, misleading information and the effects of repeated recall. These quirks could play a very real role in your case, particularly when an account has been discussed or revisited over time.
Memory and eyewitness experts
Find the supplied U.S. directory of researchers and expert witnesses, prepared June 26, 2026.