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“Recovered memories shouldn’t be used as evidence in court.”

“[Recovered memory] is not reliable evidence, and that's the position that we take in this case, that this evidence of recovered memory because it is based on suggestion… when we're in a court of law, we have to deal with the factual and not what's important to the therapy of the victim… in the case of recovery of repressed memory, that that is per se inadmissible evidence.” - John Roberts, at the FMSF Day of Contrition Conference. [1]

“Because there is no scientific support for the theory of repression, so called "repressed" and recovered memories must not be allowed as evidence in our Courts of Law… To admit such controversial "evidence" would not only violate the very rules on which the legal system relies but also violate the rights of those who are subjected to our Court system.” - FMSF Amicus Brief [2]

Refutation

Citations

[1] Roberts, John. (1997, January 14). [Announcement of involvement in a case in New Hampshire.] Day of Contrition Revisited, Salem, MA, USA.

[2] Commonwealth v. Shanley, Brief of Amicus Curiae, False Memory Syndrome Foundation. No. SJC-10382 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2009)

[3] Brown, D., Scheflin, A. W., & Whitfield, C. L. (1999). Recovered Memories: The Current Weight of the Evidence in Science and in the Courts. The Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 27(1), 5–156. doi:10.1177/009318539902700102

[4] Dalenberg, C. (2006). Recovered Memory and the Daubert Criteria. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 7(4), 274–310. doi:10.1177/1524838006294572

[5] Shahzade v. Gregory, 923 Federal Supplement 286 (D. Mass. 1996)

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