Abstract
Culhane describes the memory test asked of suspects when developing (or generating) their alibi. He discusses the two-part process by illustrating first the “Story Phase” (where the suspect states their whereabouts during the time of the crime to be away from the location where the crime occurred), and next the “Validation Phase” (where the suspect is expected to provide supporting evidence of their alibi story, typically in the form of person or physical corroborating evidence) of alibi generation. He examines the literature to date on motivational differences for person-based corroboration, and ease of fabrication for physical evidence (both part of the original taxonomy), but expands the discussion by mentioning the technological advancements that may make developing corroborative evidence more complicated. He devotes specific attention to the potential generation and corroboration of false alibi statements and discusses the legal requirements to disclose alibi statements to the court in different levels and systems. Culhane concludes with a call for additional research on alibis in the context of generating both the statement itself and the corroborating evidence to support it.
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Notes
- 1.
In the comments section of the recommendations for alibi instructions the higher court actually suggests that it is “appealing” to give no instruction on the topic at all.
- 2.
In some cases, the courts have noted that an additional line is part of standard instructions: “If, after a full and fair consideration of all the facts and circumstances in evidence, you find that the government has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was present at the time when, and the place where, the offense charged was allegedly committed, you must find the defendant not guilty” (U.S. v. Cicero, 1994).
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Culhane, S.E. (2022). Generating Alibi Statements. In: Behl, J.D., Kienzle, M.R. (eds) Alibis and Corroborators. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95663-9_3
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