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A witness is someone who has first-hand knowledge about a crime or
dramatic event through their senses (e.g. seeing
or hearing) and can certify to its happening. A witness who has seen the event at first-hand is known as an eye-witness.
Witnesses are often called before a court of law to testify in trials.
Eyewitness testimony is often presumed to be better than circumstantial evidence, but studies have shown that eyewitness
testimony is often so flawed as to be meaningless. This can occur because of faulty observation and recollection, because of
witness bias, or because the witness is lying. One study involved an experiment in which subjects acted as jurors in a criminal
case. Jurors heard a description of a robbery-murder, then a prosecution argument, then an argument for the defense. Some jurors
heard only circumstantial evidence, others heard from a clerk who claimed to identify the defendant. In the first case, 18%
percent found the defendant guilty, but in the second, 72% found the defendant guilty. (Loftus 1988) Lineups, where the
eyewitness picks out a suspect from a group of people in the police station, are often grossly suggestive, and give the false
impression that the witness remembered the suspect. In another study, students watched a staged crime. An hour later they looked
through photos. A week later they were asked to pick the suspect out of lineups. 8% of the people in the lineups were mistakenly
identified as criminals. 20% of the innocent people whose photographs were included were mistakenly identified. (University of
Nebraska 1977) Another study looked at sixty-five cases of "erroneous criminal convictions of innocent people." In 45% of the
cases, eyewitness mistakes were responsible. (Borchard p. 367).
A witness who specializes in an area of study relevant to the crime is called an expert witness. Scientists and doctors are often called to give expert witness testimony.
There have been a number of films and television dramas revolving around the idea of the witness, generally with the word in
their title - Witness for the
Prosecution, Witness (television series), Silent Witness, Mute Witness, and Witness (1985
movie).
A certain number of witnesses are legally required to be present at weddings and
certain other official events, and may have to sign a register as evidence of the event having taken place. Many other legal
documents require witnesses to signatures; the witness does not need to read the
document, but does need to see it being signed. The witness should not be party to the transaction, so in the case of wills, the witness should not be one of the beneficiaries.
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