Children As Witnesses Lecture Notes PDF

8/20/24 Lecture 7: Children as Witnesses Professor Rachel Zajac office: 413 William James Building phone: 479 3988 email: r...

8/20/24 Lecture 7: Children as Witnesses Professor Rachel Zajac office: 413 William James Building phone: 479 3988 email: [email protected] 1 2 3 4 Child Sexual Abuse Children unwilling to disclose abuse Medical/physical evidence rarely present Absence of eyewitnesses What Governs Children’s Eyewitness Ability? Child witness controversy 5 6 1  8/20/24 Memory Memory Children’s memories are better than was Hayne & Rovee-Collier once thought e.g., De Casper & Fifer (1980) 7 8 Memory Memory Early memories are limited by: Early memories are limited by: Short duration Short duration Context dependence 9 10 Memory Memory Early memories are limited by: Early memories are limited by: Short duration Short duration Context dependence Context dependence Language competence Language competence Knowledge base By the age of 4 or 5, children have the capacity to provide forensically relevant information about past events 11 12 2  8/20/24 Verbal Report Tell me everything that you Free recall accounts are highly accurate, remember but brief Who was there? As questions become more specific, children give more detail, but also make more errors Was your Mum there? Your Mum was there, wasn’t she? 13 14 As questions become more specific… Accuracy Details ✔ ✘ 15 16 Suggestibility Suggestibility “the degree to which one’s memory and/or “the degree to which one’s memory and/or recounting of an event is influenced by recounting of an event is influenced by suggested information or misinformation” suggested information or misinformation” (Reed, 1996) (Reed, 1996) – cognitively-driven suggestibility – socially-driven suggestibility Variation in suggestibility 17 18 3  8/20/24 The Kelly Michaels Case Prosecutor: Did she touch you with a Inappropriate Questioning in spoon? Child: No Child Sexual Abuse Trials Prosecutor: No? Okay. Did you like it when she touched you with the spoon? Child: No 19 20 The McMartin Preschool Case The McMartin Preschool Case “We know about that game because we have just Interviewer: Can you remember had twenty kids tell us about that game. Do you the naked pictures? think if I asked you a question you could put your Child: (shakes head no) thinking cap on and you might remember?” Interviewer: Can’t remember that part? Child: (shakes head no) Interviewer: Why don’t you think about that for a while, okay? Your memory might come back to you. 21 22 The McMartin Preschool Case The McMartin Preschool Case “We know about that game because we have just “We know about that game because we have just had twenty kids tell us about that game. Do you had twenty kids tell us about that game. Do you think if I asked you a question you could put your think if I asked you a question you could put your thinking cap on and you might remember?” thinking cap on and you might remember?” “Are you going to be stupid, or are you going to be “Are you going to be stupid, or are you going to be smart and help us here?” smart and help us here?” “Well, what good are you? You must be dumb.” 23 24 4  8/20/24 The McMartin Preschool Case Peter Ellis “We know about that game because we have just had twenty kids tell us about that game. Do you think if I asked you a question you could put your thinking cap on and you might remember?” “Are you going to be stupid, or are you going to be smart and help us here?” “Well, what good are you? You must be dumb.” “Can I pat you on the head? Look at what a good help you can be. You’re going to help all these children because you’re so smart.” 25 26 The NZ Legal System Criminal cases are heard under an adversarial system The New Zealand Legal – Direct Examination System for Child – Cross-Examination Witnesses – (Re-Examination) No lower age limit or corroboration laws Competency requirement 27 28 1. Lack of Legal Knowledge Knowledge of Vocabulary Potential Problems for Child Witnesses in Court Lawyers order lunch 29 30 5  8/20/24 1. Lack of Legal Knowledge 2. Confronting the Accused Knowledge of Vocabulary Can make children less likely to incriminate Knowledge of Procedure Effects likely to increase when children have been threatened? 31 32 3. Courtroom Environment 3. Courtroom Environment Large group of strangers 33 34 3. Courtroom Environment 3. Courtroom Environment Large group of strangers Large group of strangers Elevation of judge Elevation of judge Isolation of witness box 35 36 6  8/20/24 3. Courtroom Environment 4. Cross-Examination Large group of strangers Child is questioned by the opposing lawyer Elevation of judge Aim is to discredit testimony Isolation of witness box A “how not to” guide to interviewing children Formal Attire Questions are often leading, complex, confusing, and challenging to credibility 37 38 4. Cross-Examination Current Situation Most children change at least one part of Three options for children giving evidence in their testimony sexual abuse trials: Ø In courtroom with screen shielding witness from In the lab, cross-examiantion-style accused questioning is detrimental to accuracy Ø From another room in the courthouse, via CCTV 39 40 Current Situation Three options for children giving evidence in sexual abuse trials: Ø In courtroom with screen shielding witness from accused Ø From another room in the courthouse, via CCTV Ø Via pre-recorded videotape Judge no longer warns jury that children are prone to distortion of facts 41 42 7  8/20/24 Current Situation The system is by no means perfect Cross-examination still occurs live Reforms to the cross-examination process are in the pipeline 43 8