Taus v. Loftus: Determining the Legal Ground Rules for Scholarly Inquiry

Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Vol. 9, pp. 147-162, 2009

UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2009-34

17 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2009 Last revised: 5 Aug 2010

See all articles by Gilbert Geis

Gilbert Geis

University of California, Irvine Law School, Criminology, Law & Society

Elizabeth F. Loftus

University of California, Irvine - Department of Psychological Science; University of California, Irvine School of Law

Abstract

A published article by Elizabeth Loftus and Melvin Guyer (2002) examined the claim of a psychiatrist that “Jane Doe,” interviewed at age 5 and then 11 years later, had recovered a repressed memory of sexual abuse by her mother. The Loftus-Guyer article resulted in a lawsuit by the young woman who claimed invasions of privacy, defamation, and other injuries. This article details the history of the lawsuit and attends in particular to the tension between free speech as a scholarly right and the role of the courts and of Institutional Review Boards, both of which played a prominent role in regard to the research enterprise.

Suggested Citation

Geis, Gilbert and Loftus, Elizabeth F., Taus v. Loftus: Determining the Legal Ground Rules for Scholarly Inquiry. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Vol. 9, pp. 147-162, 2009, UC Irvine School of Law Research Paper No. 2009-34, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1496006

Gilbert Geis

University of California, Irvine Law School, Criminology, Law & Society ( email )

401 E. Peltason Dr.
Ste. 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-1000
United States
949-721-9401 (Phone)
949-721-9413 (Fax)

Elizabeth F. Loftus (Contact Author)

University of California, Irvine - Department of Psychological Science ( email )

4201 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-7085
United States

University of California, Irvine School of Law

401 E. Peltason Dr.
Ste. 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-1000
United States

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