An eyewitness is an individual who has personally observed an event or incident and can provide firsthand testimony or evidence about what they saw. In legal contexts, such as criminal trials, eyewitness testimony can be crucial in determining the facts of a case and establishing the guilt or innocence of a defendant. However, eyewitness testimony can be subject to biases, inaccuracies, and memory errors, which may affect its reliability and credibility. Factors such as stress, perception, attention, and suggestibility can influence an eyewitness’s ability to accurately recall and report details about an event. As such, legal professionals and courts carefully evaluate and scrutinise eyewitness testimony, considering factors such as consistency, corroboration, and potential biases when assessing its reliability and weight in legal proceedings.
A person who has personally seen something happen and so can give a first-hand description of it.
n. a person who has actually seen an event and can so testify in court.
- Someone who sees an event and can report or testify about it.
- To be present at an event, and see it
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This glossary post was last updated: 29th March, 2024.
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