Product Description
The criminal justice system has devised several procedural safeguards to protect defendants from erroneous conviction resulting from mistaken eyewitness identification. Mistaken Identification: The Eyewitness, Psychology and the Law reviews the empirical research bearing on the adequacy of those safeguards. This body of literature converges on the conclusion that traditional safeguards such as presence of counsel at lineups, cross-examination, and judges' instructions, are ineffective safeguards against mistaken eyewitness identification. Expert psychological testimony on eyewitness memory, designed to educate the jury about how memory processes work and how eyewitness testimony should be evaluated, shows much greater promise as a safeguard against mistaken identifications and erroneous convictions.Mistaken Identification is an invaluable text for advanced psychology students, law students and researchers of memory. ... Read more

Product Description
The Psychology of Stalking is the first scholarly book on stalking ever published. Virtually every serious writer and researcher in this area of criminal psychopathology has contributed a chapter. These chapters explore stalking from social, psychiatric, psychological and behavioral perspectives. New thinking and data are presented on threats, pursuit characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses, offender-victim typologies, cyberstalking, false victimization syndrome, erotomania, stalking and domestic violence, the stalking of public figures, and many other aspects of stalking, as well as legal issues. This landmark text is of interest to both professionals and other thoughtful individuals who recognize the serious nature of this ominous social behavior.

Key Features
* First scholarly book on stalking ever published
* Contributions from virtually all major researchers in field
* Discussion of what to do when being stalked
* Uses examples from recent publicized cases ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Junk from an all American quack
This is the witch doctor whose second-hand shrinking (he never actually met the patient) led to the imprisonment of Timothy Lee Masters for the murder of Peggy Hettrick, a crime we now know he did not commit.An innocent man went to prison for a decade because of the sexual fantasies of Jerk Reid Meloy who like Nostrodamus imagines his powers of perception to be so acute that he can solve murders by viewing the margin doodles of a normal fifteen year old boy.

Not once in this book, nor any other book, have Meloy's theories been substantiated using a standard double-blind scientific method.This is wacko academia at its worst:loud talking and unsubstantiated fantasy on the same level as palmistry or phrenology.

Good Read!
Great intro to stalking behavior and the signs, symptoms, and preventive measures one can take. I found this book informative, well-researched, and insightful. Certainly, a good resource for anyone interested in stalking, domestic violence, or general offender behavior.

great book
great book.good look from a psychological standpoint.Very imformative.He ties together information on threats, stalking and assassination.

This book does not treat cases of multiple stalkers,....
I am a licensed psychotherapist with a personal and professional interest in 'multiple stalking' cases, in which a perpetrator organizes other individuals, likely strangers to the victim, to stalk and harass a feared or hated target individual, often over the internet.

This is a basic, beginning book, written in 1998 and way behind in filling the need, considering the proliferation of actual crimes originating on the internet especially those in which a single website recruits or incites multiple individuals, usually strangers, as stalkers against one individual. In addition, unfortunately, this well-meaning but limited book has likely set back law enforcement help for victims of multiple-stalker, internet-originating crimes by years:

In particular, the chapter on 'false victimization' is unnecessary and could well have been left out as it gives inexperienced, overburdened or uncaring law enforcement personnel, as they read the chapter about a variety of cases which at first sound like legitimate stalking cases but turn out to be false alarms, rationale to superimpose them upon all pleas to law enforcement for help, and justification to dismiss out of hand legitimate cases as illegitimate -- without investigation.

Other examples of little or no cyberstalking training (in the LAPD; there is no cyberstalking section though the law now mandates it): A lone law enforcement individual manning the phone at LAPD's 'cyberstalking' section has said, 'cyberstalking is threatening e-mails -- period!'(2001).(This misapprehension is not discredited in Meloy's book.)Another LAPD detective, a woman, said, 'Just don't go on line', and when she heard about skin-burning chemicals inserted in the victim's newspapers, 'Just stop taking the newspaper'. Another detective, when hearing about a rationally-described but complicated case of internet-originated stalking and harassment insisted that the victim go into a psychiatric facility for a three-day hold in order to 'determine what is going on' -- this is without the first attempt at interview or investigation. Other detectives, more restrained, have explained that they need 'proof' before even beginning an investigation and gathering proof,leaving the victim in a helpless, catch-22 situation (and, being put off by the multiple-stalker nature of the crime as described refused to look at the evidence at hand).

There are now many published accounts of individuals who have been targeted by people who want them dead or distracted (or, in some cases, discredited, as victims are often disbelieved when there are no witnesses and the harassment takes forms which leave little in the way of evidence)and who use the internet to accomplish such a crime without their risking being an actual part of it. One was of a woman who, working for Housing and Urban Development, had tried to integrate an all-white neighborhood. A white-supremicist set up a website and put her and her 18-year old daughter's personal information on it, inciting others to go after them. They had to move from house to house, state to state; each time the website updated their new, 'secret' information. (Finally, HUD sued this operator on the woman's behalf and won; it is unclear if he has stopped his mischief.) Another is of an editor of a progressive Jewish publication which has criticized Israel for being too hard on the Palestinians; he had death threats and had his address, phones, family names, published on a radical fundamentalist Israeli website, inciting strangers to make frequent death threats. Another victim, a grown woman, who confronted her paranoid and psychopathic father with the fact of her childhood sexual abuse by him later found herself a target of unknown people for years before finding out her father, who was afraid without reason of being incarcerated was behind it; she was forced to move from house to house, ending up incarcerated inside her own home due to the types of 'non-provable', 'high-tech' harassment techniques used by her father's cohorts (paid, or recruited over the internet)and cut off from other members of her family by her father's making sure everyone knew about his previously respected daughter's 'delusions of persecution'. --In this case, virtually every technique used, when spoken about, did sound like the delusions of a paranoid schizophrenic; such discrediting was the point of the crime, though the facts in this case were true.(Psychotherapists, take heed.)

Meloy doesn't mention multiple stalkers in his book, in fact, denigrates such stories by default and by being too vague in describing the differences between false and real cases (investigators 'had the feeling' the case was false), doing nothing to prevent law enforcement, with little more in the way of studies to go on, from concluding that more often than not a given case is 'self-harm' or simply a lie.

Psychotherapists: Many or most psychotherapists also have no choice, not hearing or knowing about the increasing multiple stalking cases (and being themselves too shocked at such stories and in denial -- as the society was about child abuse, wife-beating and one-person stalking for decades before acknowledging the seriousness and actuality of these crimes; and as we all were about the reality of terrorist threats to our nation though there was plenty of evidence for years apparently that these threats were real) they leap to the conclusion that their client is delusional. In fact, to be fair, most multiple-stalking cases are burgeoning exponentially, at the same rate as the internet, and all of this is new. (As Meloy, to his credit, attests, and he gives sound reasons why a person, who might not have been a criminal before the advent of the internet, might resort to deadly and terrorizing tactics when he thinks the internet will allow him impunity. p. 12)

There are now two cyberstalking laws in California (written after the book was written); one convicted a man (named Delapenta) who had set up a website in the name of a woman he had been turned down by for a date. He had published her name, address, phone, and ways to bypass her security system on this site; he said (as if he was she) 'she' wanted to be raped and to ignore any calls for help she might make -- that this was just part of 'her' game. The young woman was terrified at the calls and visits by strange men and remained so for at least a year after the perpetrator was caught (by her father spending weeks searching on line at first and then pretending to be a website visitor, and by two men who came to her door admitting what was going on; not by any police investigation).

There are many such stories which have been published, which make use of personal identity information on the internet, including photographs (in one known case, brazenly taken head-on of the victim by strangers with long-distance lenses in food stores, concerts, in an empty hotel lobby after a conference, across a children's playground of herself and her grandchild -- the stunned victim found that the photographers drove away in cars which had no license plates), to recruit and evoke stranger-stalkers to target one individual. Some sites might be 'dead pool' sites, which include gambling on the person's death date --this is an effective come-on as, unlike 'hate sites', 'players' have the impetus of winning money or earning it through individual assaults or 'attacks'. These may be like a computer game, but in which a real person has been chosen (likely by a known perpetrator, maybe a family member -- like the father who was afraid without cause that he, himself, would become incarcerated or abandoned if his abuse of his daugher came to light)to be the target in real life. Some of the sites may require illicitly shared software in order to 'play' and the website may not be findable by ordinary search techniques. A person playing this 'game' might get points for making one or more assaults of some kind on the victim, terrorizing her/him and possibly hastening his/her death by suicide or homicide. There was one such report (1997) of a Dungeons and Dragons game, originating on the internet but played out on the street, which resulted in the suicides of three terrified teenagers.

Clearly a new book needs to be written, and soon, incorporating all the now-known cases of multiple (stranger)stalkers elicited on the internet targeting a single individual as well as the continued gap in law enforcement between what needs to be known about how to investigate these cases (sophisticated cyber-training and sections in police departments devoted to such crimes) and how victims are being treated today. Likely legistatures need to vote money toward these sections and not just make new cybercrime laws.

This book does not treat cases of multiple stalkers,....
I am a licensed psychotherapist with a personal and professional interest in 'multiple stalking' cases, in which a perpetrator organizes other individuals, likely strangers to the victim, to stalk and harass a feared or hated target individual, often over the internet.

This is a basic, beginning book, written in 1998 and way behind in filling the need, considering the proliferation of actual crimes originating on the internet especially those in which a single website recruits or incites multiple individuals, usually strangers, as stalkers against one individual. In addition, unfortunately, this well-meaning but limited book has likely set back law enforcement help for victims of multiple-stalker, internet-originating crimes by years:

In particular, the chapter on 'false victimization' is unnecessary and could well have been left out as it gives inexperienced, overburdened or uncaring law enforcement personnel, as they read the chapter about a variety of cases which at first sound like legitimate stalking cases but turn out to be false alarms, rationale to superimpose them upon all pleas to law enforcement for help, and justification to dismiss out of hand legitimate cases as illegitimate -- without investigation.

Other examples of little or no cyberstalking training (in the LAPD; there is no cyberstalking section though the law now mandates it): A lone law enforcement individual manning the phone at LAPD's 'cyberstalking' section has said, 'cyberstalking is threatening e-mails -- period!' (2001)(This misapprehension is not discredited in Meloy's book.)Another LAPD detective, a woman, said, 'Just don't go on line' and when she heard about skin-burning chemicals inserted in the victim's newspapers, 'Just stop taking the newspaper'. Another detective, when hearing about a rationally-described but complicated case of internet-originated stalking and harassment insisted that the victim go into a psychiatric facility for a three-day hold in order to 'determine what is going on' -- this is without the first attempt at interview or investigation. Other detectives, more restrained, have explained that they need 'proof' before even beginning an investigation and gathering proof,leaving the victim in a helpless, catch-22 situation (and, being put off by the multiple-stalker nature of the crime as described refused to look at the evidence at hand). (...) ... Read more

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With the media spotlight on the recent developments concerning the Supreme Court, more and more people have become increasingly interested in the highest court in the land.Who are the justices that run it and how do they make their decisions?

The Psychology of the Supreme Court by Lawrence S. Wrightsman is the first book to thoroughly examine the psychology of Supreme Court decision-making.Dr. Wrightsman's book seeks to help us understand all aspects of the Supreme Court's functioning from a psychological perspective.This timely and comprehensive work addresses many factors of influence including, the background of the justices, how they are nominated and appointed, the role of their law clerks, the power of the Chief Justice, and the day-to-day life in the Court.Dr. Wrightsman uses psychological concepts and research findings from the social sciences to examine the steps of the decision-making process, as well as the ways in which the justices seek to remain collegial in the face of conflict and the degree of predictability in their votes.

Psychologists and scholars, as well as those of us seeking to unravel the mystery of The Supreme Court of the United States will find this book to be an eye-opening read. ... Read more

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Adjudicative competence remains an important topic of researchand practice in psychology and law. In the five sections ofAdjudicative Competence: The MacArthur Studies, theauthors present not only a summary of the research of the MacArthurstudies on competence but also an examination of the underlyingtheoretical work of Professor Richard Bonnie. It is the firstpublication to encapsulate the scope and significance of both thestudies themselves and Bonnie's contributions. There is no othersource available that addresses this range of topics.Given its breadth and scope, this book will be a "must have" forforensic mental health professionals, an important volume for lawyers,and a vital academic reference work. ... Read more

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During his term as President of APA-LS/Division 41, JamesOgloff organized a comprehensive program of research reviews in thearea of the law and psychology. Taking Psychology and Law intothe Twenty-First Century is the product of that program.

In these pages top scholars contribute chapters covering a wide rangeof topics including jurisprudence, competency, children, forensic riskassessment, eyewitness testimony, jurors and juries, lawsuits, andcivil law. Also included is an introductory chapter by the editor.

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This Major Reference series brings together a wide range of key international articles in law and legal theory. Many of these essays are not readily accessible, and their presentation in these volumes will provide a vital new resource for both research and teaching. Each volume is edited by leading international authorities who explain the significance and context of articles in an informative and complete introduction.

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"In Proving the Unprovable, Professor Slobogin has done the undoable; he has produced a probing critique of the legal rules for admitting expert mental health testimony that had me turning the pages as if it were a suspense novel. After trenchantly analyzing current stands for admissibility, he suggests innovative approaches to protect the reasonable contributions that mental health experts can make. I doubt that any expert, no matter how experienced, who reads this book will view his or her task on the witness stand in quite the same way again."

--Paul S. Appelbaum, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Director, Division of Psychiatry, Law and Ethics, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons ... Read more

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This volume of proceedings from the IVth conference of the European Association of psychology and law, held in Barcelona, Spain, in 1994, summarizes the recent advances in the field of the psychology of law, with particular reference to contribution by (increasingly, southern) European researchers and practitioners. The book reflects an enormous variety in terms of areas of interest and methodologies. Most areas of research receive attention, from prison to courtroom to international comparative studies, from victims to offenders to legal operators. Methodologies range from survey research to experiments to meta analysis, and reflect the vast expansion in empirical research that this field has witnessed in recent years. The volume, a continuation of a series, will be of interest to scholars and practitioners from both legal and psychological areas, and serves to document the increasing applicability of psychological perspectives to legal and criminal justice interventions. ... Read more

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Violent crimes committed by the mentally disordered attract academic and public attention. They raise issues of moral responsibility and public protection. This study systematically analyses the principles underlying those legal and medical devices which enable the courts to make special arrangements for the mentally disordered.

Buchanan examines three fundamental precepts in criminal law: justification, excuse and mitigation. A defendant who has been proved guilty can usually have his or her sentence reduced only where one of these three principles applies. The way that the courts interpret notions of responsibility and choice may influence the outcome considerably. For mentally disordered offenders, the matter becomes even more complicated - this is where the psychological and psychiatric aspects of justification, excuse and mitigation come into play. The author combines a jurisprudential analysis of the above with a discussion of current legal provision for mentally disordered offenders in England and America. This thought-provoking book will be of particular interest to a wide range of professionals in the forensic field, as well as to academics specialising in mental health law and the philosophy of psychiatry. ... Read more

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The authors bring the "person" back into criminology by focusing on understanding individual differences in criminal conduct and recognizing the importance of personal, interpersonal, and community factors. What results is a truly interdisciplinary general personality and social psychology of criminal behavior that is open to a wide variety of factors that relate to individual differences - a perspective with both theoretical and practical significance in North America and Great Britain.

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Univ. of California, Santa Cruz. Text examines psychological issues of prison inmates. Topics include psychology and the prison form, prison as criminogenic context, using psychology to limit prison pain, and more. For psychologists, social workers, and public and legal policy workers. ... Read more

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Experts in Court examines the use of expert testimony across the legal system, including the unique issues faced by mental health professionals when they are called upon to serve as expert witnesses. Lawyers and judges often fear that mental health professionals' testimony is purely experiential and not based on objective criteria or a demonstrable scientific foundation. Through the use of ground-breaking court rulings, Sales and Shuman explain the scrutiny that psychologists will need to use to survive admissibility determinations under new and evolving rules of evidence. Their skillful and detailed analysis of these rulings show how the standards of admissibility for expert testimony have changed and how they have altered the relationships among judges, juries, experts, and lawyers. ... Read more