The Judiciary System

Recollection of knowledge via hypnosis has been used in many cases, but its effectiveness is disputed. Proponents claim that recovered memories have aided in the solving of many crimes, often corroborating with physical evidence which would have been impossible to obtain otherwise. Skeptics suggest that such successes are a function of simple chance, pointing to cases where its use on victims of rape or attempted murder to help them jog their memory in identifying an accused has caused sentences to be doled out to the wrong person. This is because the hypnotist might make suggestions that are more likely to be remembered as "truth". (See also false memory). Most experts recommend that the practice be used at most like a lie detector, to glean more information, and never as the smoking gun.

Hypnosis has proven beneficial, but not always in expected ways. During the Hillside Strangler trial, Kenneth Bianchi claimed a split personality carried out the crimes of which he was accused. Hypnosis was used extensively to argue that a second personality existed. However, due to faults in Bianchi's facade, it was proved that no other personalities existed and his insanity defense was discredited.