Review of You May Cross Examine

Abstract

Reviews the book, You May Cross Examine by Lewis Herman and Meyer Goldberg (1936). The authors admit that basic psychological precepts, which must be considered in any analysis of cross examination, underlies the entire structure of court procedure; however, they believe that the courts are "far in advance of the so-called modern science of psychology." In referring to the lie detector, they say, "Besides analyzing and pointing out possible sources of error and contradiction in the testimonial process, modern psychologists have evolved various instrumentalities which they hope will prove useful as an adjunct to cross examination." That the present reliance of the courts upon cross examination is dangerous is shown by one case where witnesses put to flight by able lawyers were proved later to be not perjurers but truthful citizens whose confusion had brought about a miscarriage of justice. The lesson of Borehard's, Convicting the Innocent , should not be quickly forgotten. "The time is ripe," says Sheldon Glueck in his recent Crime and Justice , "for a radical re-examination and overhauling of the complicated and ill arranged structure of criminal justice," and You May Cross Examine will serve to remind psychologists of their opportunities in this field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)