Teenagers’ difficulties with key words regarding the criminal court process

Abstract

Testifying in court is a daunting experience for any witness and an understanding of legal terminology can be beneficial. Previous research has found that children under 11 years have significant gaps in their knowledge of court. However, while older children have been found to know more, their misunderstandings warrant further investigation. This study was designed to examine the understanding/misunderstanding of key legal words by older children (aged between 12 and 15 years). Also, it was predicted that within the current sample, participants from a selective school would know more than those from a non-selective school, females would know more than males, and older children would know more than younger children. A total of 111 participants were recruited from two secondary schools in Northern Ireland. This study was a 3×2×2 factorial design (12/13/15 years; female/male; school A/school B). Participants completed a knowledge-of-court questionnaire that asked them (i) if they recognized and (ii) to describe 16 legal terms. School type and age affected recognition and age affected description. Some notable mis-comprehensions were evident in all age groups, in particular for “cross-examination”, “jury” and “defendant”. The practical implications of these findings for witness preparation are discussed.