1) Eyewitness testimony, write a 8-10 sentence detailed paragraph.

How reliable is eyewitness testimony?

Watch the video posted in our Week 12 module (it's short, only 4 1/2 minutes). Its a partial video of a full show. But the first few minutes is most relevant to our discussion, so I just uploaded that portion.

Then watch the Ted Talk in this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2OegI6wvI

Let's talk about eyewitness testimony. Many people are convicted based on eyewitness testimony. Is that a concern after watching the two videos, why or why not?

What can police officers do to limit the mistakes that can be made by eye witnesses? There is a lot of research out there about how line-ups should be presented, both in person and photo lineups. What can police do better?

How should prosecutors handle cases when the main evidence that points to a particular suspect is the testimony of an eyewitness?

2) write a response to the students paragraph 5 sentences min. Write how you agree with their ideas and add more to it. Do not just compliment the student on their work. Add details of how you agree.

Student Response: The amount of people who are convicted strictly on eyewitness is a little concerning to me. The lady in the ted talk video made me realize that our memories are not as reliable as we think. People tend to have false memories, like in the examples she used of the stop sign and the broken glass. She also pointed out that there was 300 cases where the wrong person was convicted last year because false remembrances. Police can try to put as little pressure on the witnesses as possible. They should collect DNA evidence of people on the line up so if the suspect was selected in the line up and commit a crime again they already have the DNA. Most of the people who commit a crime and get away with it after going through a lineup will commit a crime again in the future. So although they might not get caught at the line up, there is still a high probability they will be caught in the future.The prosecutor should try to prove how good of a memory the witness has, if that is their best evidence. They should make sure the victim is ready to answer any question the defense might throw at them.

3) Persuasive Opening Statements, write a 8-10 sentence detailed paragraph.

Examples of Persuasive Opening Statements (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Watch the video in the link above. Do you think that this opening statement was persuasive? Why or why not?

Can you find another video of an opening statement that you found effective (there are many on Youtube)? Where the link with us and tell us why you thought it was a good opening statement.

4) write a response to the students paragraph 5 sentences min. Write how you agree with their ideas and add more to it. Do not just compliment the student on their work. Add details of how you agree.

Student Response: I would say that this opening statement was persuasive. The attorney was able to walk us through the scenario, he was able to tell it in a way as if we were to experience it. He was also able to mention a couple of facts in the story which sounds a bit more convincing. Lastly, he was confident in what he had to say and made us reconsider who the killer would be.

In this video, the prosecution was also able to imagine what happens as he tells the story, he made the story seem like there is no one is can be guilty nor can this be an accident and the person that is responsible for this is the defendant. After hearing the opening statement, I am convinced with the facts that were stated, she didn't fall off a cliff and hit her head. Overall, I find this to be a very convincing opening statement as it was able to list all the details and evidence.