Wrightsman's Psychology and the Legal System Sixth Edition Greene, Heilburn, Fortune, Nietzel From the Preface It has sometimes been said that the "law sharpens the mind by narrowing it". With this edition of Wrightsman's Psychology and the Legal System, we hope to reverse that trend and broaden our perspective by applying concepts, theories, and research findings from scientific psychology to the study of law.[…] We believe that the law is inherently psychological: forged by people with varying desires and ambitions, interpreted by individuals with different (sometimes contradictory) perspectives, and experienced (either directly or indirectly) by all of us.[…] We have attempted to find the right mix of psychology and legal analysis in the text. The book's emphasis remains on psychological science and practice, but we also summarize the legal history of many key topics and present the current status of relevant legal theories and court decisions. Specific topics that are covered for the first time in this edition include drug courts, mental health courts, new forensic assessment measures, police responses to terrorist threats […] juveniles' right to self-determination […] and legal issues surrounding children living in nontraditional families… We have made the following major changes form the last edition: * The total number of chapters has been reduced from 17 to 15 … * In each chapter, case summaries in boxes ("The case of…") describe real cases or trials that illustrate or explain an important legal concept or psychological principle covered in the chapter. * We have combined three chapters that had served as introduction to the previous edition and have now sharpened our coverage of the role of psychologists in the legal system and the ethical issues they face. [...] * We have added a new chapter (Chapter 14) devoted exclusively to psychological issues pertaining to children, adolescents, and the law, including coverage of juvenile offenders, prevention of child abuse, and the reliability of child witnesses. * Coverage of the rights of victims and defendants is now distributed throughout the book. This edition includes a thorough, authoritative revision of every chapter in light of research and professional literature published since the last edition appeared in 2002. […]