Confabulation

A good word for what witnesses do, and some bloggers, too. From the ABA Journal's McElhaney on Litigation:

“Confabulation,” said Angus. “Unconsciously replacing fact with fantasy in your memory is a natural human tendency. Everybody does it to some extent. It’s not intentional lying—although there is plenty of that going around, as well. Confabulation is subconsciously ‘improving’ the story so it fits our psychological needs better than what actually happened..."

Tell me you haven't had a witness confabulate all over the courtroom, and I'll tell you that you haven't done enough trials.