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Hypnotically Refreshed Testimony: Is It Legally Relevant To A Criminal Proceeding In Ohio, Thomas H. Allison

Cleveland State Law Review

In the past twenty years a growing number of courts, both state and federal, have addressed the problem of the admissibility in a criminal trial of testimony by a witness whose memory has been "refreshed" by the use of pre-trial hypnosis. Some courts are of the opinion that hypnosis is nothing more than a memory aid, to be treated like any other device to refresh recollection. Other courts believe hypnosis is more of a "science," and as such should be treated consistently with the rules for the admission of other scientific evidence. While the reliability of using hypnosis to refresh …