Abstract
Communication plays a key role in a witness's ability to give evidence and participate in the court process. Adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) can be negatively impacted by communication difficulties such as: limitations in recall abilities; suggestibility to leading questions; difficult question styles used by advocates; and unfamiliar language used within the court setting. Most research carried out on communication challenges for adults with ID, when giving evidence, has involved participants in psychology-based experimental methodology. In this study 19 court reports assessing actual witnesses (complainants and defendants) with ID, written by Registered Intermediaries in Northern Ireland, were analysed. A wide range of communication difficulties were identified for the adult witnesses. Difficulties resulting from communication used by their communication partner (typically the advocate in a court setting) were also described. A rich model of the challenges for both partners, in giving evidence and in cross-examination, is presented, extending previous research. This study highlights the need for research within UK courts to assess: how witnesses with ID are being questioned; the effectiveness of changes made to the court process to enhance communication; the impact of the court process and environment on communication and alternative question styles for advocates to use.
Highlights
Communication, intellectual disabilities (ID) and courtGiving evidence in court can undoubtedly be a challenging and stressful experience for any witness
In order to address the general lack of research into communication challenges for actual witnesses this study has examined court reports written for adult witnesses by Registered Intermediary (RI) in Northern Ireland
As research already shows that children in general can be subject to communication challenges during cross-examination (Zajac and Hayne, 2003, 2006), this current study focuses on challenges identified for adults with ID, to ascertain the specific communication challenges relating to the presence of an ID
Summary
Communication, ID and courtGiving evidence in court can undoubtedly be a challenging and stressful experience for any witness. During a cross-examination exchange, verbal communication is usually between two people, an advocate and a witness This two-way form of communication is often referred to as interpersonal communication (Berger, 2014), which requires some form of mutual interaction between the persons involved (Burleson, 2010; Griffiths and Smith, 2017). In a section under useful tips, guidance from City University London’s Bar Manual on Advocacy is for advocates to avoid long, complicated sentences and tag questions. Rather, when crossexamining, they are told to ‘Formulate your questions so that they contain one fact at a time. Bar training in Northern Ireland teaches advocates to use simple language, a slow pace of questioning and emphasises the importance of listeners being able to ‘decode’ the information given (IPLS Queens University, 2019)
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