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Who Can Catch a Liar?

Hartford Superior Court Judge Trial Referee Robert Satter (h/t) has admitted what the science has said for years: People who have no training in truth detection do no better than chance (i.e., it's random if they are right or wrong) at detecting deceit.  In a Connecticut Law Tribune column, he writes: If we are honest with ourselves, in the final analysis our determination of the credibility of witnesses is no more than a guess. If we are wrong in that guess, we are very likely dead wrong in our decision of the case. Nor do the losers have recourse on appeal. The appellate court always defers to the trial judge, who saw and heard the witnesses, and it never reverses on his assessment of credibility. Yes, for most people, it really is just a guess...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime & Federalism on February 13, 2009 (boomark / email).