Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1986. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-71).

Children are often required to testify viva voce in criminal trials. The question arises whether children understand what is communicated to them during their testimony in court. In the courtroom, the witness serves as a source of information. In child abuse cases in particular, the meaningful participation of the child in court proceedings is crucial due to the fact that the child is often the key witness, or the only witness, for the prosecution. The proper evaluation of the child’s evidence, however, requires that all role-players involved in the judicial process have a sound knowledge of those aspects which deal with child psychology, especially the cognitive and language abilities of children who testify. The procedure that is followed in court is not understood by the ordinary lay person, even less by children, and the language used is formalistic and very specialized. Legal language in general often contains cognitively and linguistically inappropriate questions which prevent children from relating their stories. Furthermore their responses do not sufficiently reflect their knowledge and experience of the incident of alleged sexual assault. Court language creates serious problems for children and accordingly prevents them from being effective witnesses and taking part in the judicial process in a meaningful way. The researcher, in her capacity as a Regional Court Magistrate, realized that children have limited understanding of the criminal trial process and often become secondary victims as a result of a system that does not acknowledge their cognitive and linguistic developmental levels. The purpose of this research was therefore to test the validity of the following hypotheses: • During the examination of children in a criminal trial developmentally and linguistically inappropriate questions are posed to them; and This results in ineffective communication. Eight court transcripts of criminal cases heard in the regional courts of the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga by different presiding officers were chosen at random. These transcripts were analyzed and evaluated in order to determine whether questions posed to children when they testify are cognitively and linguistically appropriate. Each question in each of the eight transcripts was numbered and analyzed. The findings of the analysis were categorized in terms of whether they were cognitively and linguistically inappropriate questions. It was clear that the majority of questions put to the child witnesses were cognitively and linguistically inappropriate. It is evident from the evaluation that the manner in which the children’s evidence in court was presented and the way in which they were questioned created a communication barrier which placed a distorted version of events before the court. It is therefore recommended that full account be taken of the cognitive and language capabilities of each particular child in order to elicit reliable information during the child’s testimony. It is of the utmost importance that questioning be conducted in such a fashion so as to ensure that the child witness understands not only the content of the questions, but also what answers or responses are expected from them. At present, acknowledgement of linguistic and cognitive developmental appropriateness, concern and comprehension for the psychology of the child witness are ignored at best, and totally exploited at worst. This lack of knowledge about child development impacts adversely upon the child’s credibility in court. To elevate and enhance the credibility of children, it is of the utmost importance for society in general and court role-players in particular to appreciate the various stages and faces of child development. The main recommendation is that court role-players should make a paradigm shift and children, including victims of sexual assault, should be given the opportunity to tell their own stories in their own language supported by other methods of communication. In evaluating any possible changes, it is necessary to adopt and develop a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach based on scientific principles. A specialized system is required to deal with children in the criminal justice system and innovative methods to achieve this are necessary. There is a strong need to change or adjust the present manner in which the criminal justice system accommodates child witnesses. Such a change or adjustment will be in the best interests of children as envisaged in section 28 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act.

No description available.

Hypnosis has gained substantial support in the psychological community, as well as related health professions. The intense renewal of interest in hypnosis has also affected our legal-judicial system. Many police investigators trained in hypnosis operate from an exactcopy memory theory. They claim eyewitness eyewitness retrieve veridically stored memory traces from long-term memory, if questioned under hypnosis. Conversely, other researchers ascribe to a reconstructive memory theory. They believe hypnosis increases the likelihood of eliciting erroneous memories from eyewitnesses, especially under leading questioning. The purpose of the present investigation was to test the effects of hypnotic induction and anxiety on the accuracy of subjects' memory for eyewitnessed events when questioned with leading, non-leading, and embedded misinformation questions.

No description available.

Previous research on the weapon focus effect indicates that schematic knowledge plays a large role in adult witnesses' ability to recall details of a crime. This study investigated whether the weapon focus effect would be found in young children (4- and 5- year-olds), whose schemas are less developed than those of adults. An experiment was conducted in which adults and children viewed a videotape depicting a male target stealing money from a woman's purse. In the four conditions, the target's apparent occupation and the objects that he held were manipulated, so that only one condition depicted a schema inconsistency between his occupation and the object. After watching the videotape, the participants were interviewed for details regarding the target's physical appearance and the object. As predicted, the schema inconsistency resulted in decreased recall accuracy for both children and adults. These results suggest that the weapon focus effect can be generalized to young children and that their eyewitness accounts are similar to those of adults. Additionally, adults recalled a significantly greater number of details than did the children, which was also predicted. It was interesting and unexpected to find that overall. adults recalled significantly more accurate descriptions than the children. This finding was contradictory to the results of some previous studies on eyewitness memory. / Department of Psychological Science

The effect of a weapon on memory accuracy for children and adults was examined. One-hundred eighty-six participants (87 7- and 8-year-old children and 99 college undergraduates) viewed one of four videotaped scenes in which a target individual committed a crime while carrying either a weapon that was consistent or inconsistent with his schema role or a neutral non-weapon that was consistent with his role. Participants were individually interviewed about the target's physical appearance. The results indicated that participants of both age groups were less accurate when the target individual carried a weapon that was inconsistent rather than consistent with his schema role. The results also indicated that adults were more accurate overall than children. These findings are consistent with previous findings on weapon focus effect and add to our knowledge of the development of memory. / Department of Psychological Science

This thesis describes research about potential jurors' beliefs about children as witnesses. Jurors' knowledge of memory, suggestibility and child sexual abuse was collected and analysed. The aim was to identify strengths or weaknesses in jurors' knowledge to further inform discussion on whether experts should provide evidence to jurors about children's memory, suggestibility and behaviour, in cases which involve child witnesses. This research showed that jurors from both Australia and America had correct beliefs about some characteristics of child witnesses, however they also had incorrect beliefs. The main areas where both Australian and American jurors' beliefs were incorrect was in the suggestibility and interrogation category, and the memory and ability to testify category; however both had some incorrect beliefs with respect to reactions to sexual abuse and disclosure about sexual abuse categories. These findings support the proposition that expert evidence would be beneficial in improving jurors' knowledge of child witnesses, particularly in the areas of children's suggestibility and responses to interrogation. Jurors' assessment of children's testimony is fundamental in some criminal cases, and therefore information obtained in this study has implications for any case where a child witness testifies.

Fernuniv., Diss.--Hagen, 2003.

For the purpose of this study tbe child witness in the accusatorial system will be viewed as a source of information. When a witness gives evidence in court, the function of the witness is to provide the court with certain information. A number of crucial questions arise when the witness is a child. Do children bave the ability to remember and relate an event accurately? Are children prone to suggestion and fantasy? What effect, if any, does the court environment have on a child 's ability to convey information? What perceptions do children have about the legal process, and how do these perceptions affect their ability to testify? Do adults influence the information which children impart by the techniques they employ to obtain such information? Accepting the hypothesis that child witnesses are sources of information, the purpose of this study is to evaluate all aspects of the criminal justice system relating to child witnesses as well as available research on children to determine whether it is possible to obtain reliable and accurate information from children. Proposals will be formulated regarding the most successful methods of obtaining reliable and accurate information from children, and how these can be adapted for use by the legal system. The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to children in the legal system that will be fair to children while at the same time protecting the rights of the accused, and which will lead to a successful method of obtaining accurate information.