Child Witness Testimony Research Articles

Case Study: Strength of Child Witness Testimony in Cases of Sexual Abuse in Decision No. IX: 135/Pid.Sus/2023/DPK

In current criminal justice practice, there have been developments regarding the use of children's testimonies, with some judges in Indonesia admitting children's statements as evidence in cases involving minors, even though we know that children are not sworn in before giving testimony. Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyze the legal strength of children's testimonies as evidence in the criminal justice system, focusing on the case with the District Court Decision Number 135/Pid.Sus/2023/PN. Dpk. This research employs a normative legal research method with a legislative approach, conducted to explore legal issues. The primary data source supporting this research includes the District Court Decision from Depok Number: 282/Pid.Sus/2023/DPK, while secondary data consists of Law Number 35 Year 2014 concerning Amendments to Law Number 23 Year 2002 concerning Child Protection, Law Number 11 Year 2012 concerning Juvenile Justice System, and Law Number 8 Year 1981 concerning Criminal Procedure Code. The findings of this research indicate that the evidentiary strength of children's testimonies as witnesses in the Indonesian criminal justice system depends on the validity of the testimony presented in court. However, the truthfulness and probative value of such testimonies are subject to the judge's subjective assessment, and because the evaluation of witness evidence is generally non-binding, this also applies to child witnesses.

Psychological analysis of child witness testimony

Purpose of the study: Because children's own perception, memory and expressive powers differ significantly from those of adults, resulting in a difference between child and adult witnesses, the debate on the competence of the child as a witness has shifted to a judgement on the reliability of the child's testimony in the context of the development of psycho-cognitive science. Methodology: The physiological and psychological characteristics of child witnesses determine their deficiencies in the encoding, storage and extraction of memory information, and therefore the reliability of child testimonies is a key and difficult issue. For this reason, this paper uses documentary analysis to further analyse child witness testimony as the focus of the study. Main Findings: A psychological analysis of the multiple factors that affect the reliability of children's testimony. Two conclusions are drawn: 1. Children are in principle competent to testify. The development of children's testimonial competence leads to the conclusion that even very young children can remember events that happened long ago, especially if they already have prior knowledge about them. 2. Practical guidance for improving the truthfulness of the content of child witness statements improves the reliability of child witness testimony. Children can be influenced in a variety of ways to recount detailed and complete accounts of events that did not occur, such that professionals are unable to distinguish between false and truthful accounts. Perhaps the next step is to improve "questioning techniques". Novelty of the study: Correct and reliable witness testimony is key to the investigation and trial process. The importance of child witness testimony has become increasingly apparent in recent years as the number of cases involving children has increased. This issue has previously only been the focus of jurists, and this study analyses it from a psychological perspective, laying the groundwork for subsequent research in law and psychology.

Application of Child Witness Statements in Evidential Examinations in Criminal Cases

Children are a vulnerable group that requires special protection, including in the criminal law process. This study aims to analyze the enactment of child witness testimony in the examination of criminal case evidence. The research method used in this research is empirical juridical research. The data collection technique in this research is a literature study exploring journals, books, laws, and other relevant information. The data that has been collected is then analyzed using three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The results showed that the enactment of child witness testimony in examining criminal case evidence is essential in the investigation, prosecution, and trial examination. However, Article 171 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that children who are not yet 15 years old and have never been married may be examined to provide information but may not be sworn in. The Testimony of minors is considered incompletely accountable in criminal law. Therefore, they cannot be taken under oath or promise, and the Testimony of child witnesses is only used as guidance. This is by the provisions of Article 185 paragraph (7) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that the Testimony of witnesses who are not sworn in, even if it is by one another, does not constitute evidence. However, the Testimony is the Testimony of a sworn witness. In that case, it can be used as an addition to other legal evidence.

“The Child Needs to Tell it to Me in Words”

Abstract Much research on child witnesses in child sexual abuse trials is focused on children’s performance in legal proceedings. Witness competency, that is predicated on the adversarial justice system’s principle of orality, is core to child witness testimony, and is determined at the pre-trial stage. However, this article highlights the need to consider child witness competency as a dynamic concept, that varies in response to the ecologies of the trial processes as they unfold. Set in a low-middle-income country, this qualitative study describes and analyzes trial processes through a child-inclusive lens, identifying barriers and facilitators to child witness competency. The results were mixed, yielding three major conclusions for consideration: (i) the importance attributed to physical infrastructure, and the creation of vulnerable deposition rooms; (ii) the role of judicial discretion in issues of child witness competency and (iii) role of intermediaries, with regard to enhancing child witness competencies.

ANALISIS YURIDIS KEKUATAN ALAT BUKTI KETERANGAN SAKSI ANAK DALAM TINDAK PIDANA PERSETUBUHAN (PENELITIAN PUTUSAN NOMOR: 17/PID.SUS.ANAK/2014/PN.TJK)

The focus of research is on the strength of evidence for child witness testimony in criminal acts of sexual intercourse and the basis for judges' consideration in using child witness evidence in Decision Number: 17 / Pid.Sus.Anak / 2014 / PN.TJK. The objectives to be achieved are to analyze the strength of the evidence for child witnesses in the criminal act of sexual intercourse and to analyze the basis for judges' consideration in using evidence for child witnesses in Decision Number: 17 / Pid.Sus.Anak / 2014 / PN.TJK. The research method uses a normative and empirical approach. Based on the results of the research, it is known that the strength of evidence of child witness testimony in the crime of sexual intercourse in accordance with Decision Number: 17 / Pid.Sus.A child / 2014 / PN.TJK only acts as a guide or additional valid evidence and information that can strengthen the judge's conviction. to further prove the guilt of the accused, and can be used to prove the indictment of the Public Prosecutor. The victim witness was not sworn in because he was not yet 15 (fifteen) years old.

Testing the Law and Testing a Child’s Evidence: Nineteenth-Century Corroboration Reforms and Child Witness Testimony

This article examines nineteenth-century evidence and criminal law reforms that sought to balance the need for more young children to give evidence in court with the need to test their truthfulness. This period closely mirrors the current atmosphere in the aftermath of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, fears of false allegations and the #metoo movement. Drawing on case law, legislation, parliamentary debates, and newspaper reports, this article demonstrates how new unsworn testimony provisions allowed more children to be heard while, contrary to all intentions, associated corroboration reforms made prosecuting child sex offences harder than ever.

Validity of Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) at trial in free-narrative interviews

Objective The reliability of child witness testimony in sexual abuse cases is often controversial, and few tools are available. Criteria-Based Content Analysis (CBCA) is a widely used instrument for evaluating psychological credibility in cases of suspected child sexual abuse. Only few studies have evaluated CBCA scores in children suspected of being sexually abused. We designed this study to investigate the reliability of CBCA in discriminating allegations of child sexual abuse during court hearings, by comparing CBCA results with the court's final, unappealable sentence. We then investigated whether CBCA scores correlated with age, and whether some criteria were better than others in distinguishing cases of confirmed and unconfirmed abuse. Methods From a pool of 487 child sexual abuse cases, confirmed and unconfirmed cases were selected using various criteria including child IQ ≥ 70, agreement between the final trial outcome and the opinion of 3 experts, presence of at least 1 independent validating informative component in cases of confirmed abuse, and absence of suggestive questions during the child's testimonies. This screening yielded a study sample of 60 confirmed and 49 unconfirmed cases. The 14 item version of CBCA was applied to child witness testimony by 2 expert raters. Results Of the 14 criteria tested, 12 achieved satisfactory inter-rater agreement (Maxwell's Random Error). Analyses of covariance, with case group (confirmed vs. unconfirmed) and gender as independent variables and age as a covariate, showed no main effect of gender. Analyses of the interaction showed that the simple effects of abuse were significant in both sex. Nine CBCA criteria were satisfied more often among confirmed than unconfirmed cases; seven criteria increased with age. Conclusion CBCA scores distinguish between confirmed and unconfirmed cases. The criteria that distinguish best between the 2 groups are Quantity of Details, Interactions, and Subjective Experience. CBCA scores correlate positively with age, and independently from abuse; all the criteria test except 2 (Unusual Details and Misunderstood Details) increase with age. The agreement rate could be increased by merging criteria Unusual and Superfluous details that achieve a low inter-rater agreement when investigated separately. Practice implication Given its ability to distinguish between confirmed and unconfirmed cases of suspected child abuse, the CBCA could be a useful tool for expert opinion. Because our strict selection criteria make it difficult to generalize our results, further studies should investigate whether the CBCA is equally useful in the cases we excluded from our study (for example mental retardation).

Beyond Victims of Sexual Perverts: Expanding Shielding to All Juvenile Witnesses

In Maryland v. Craig, the Supreme Court approved shielding child abuse victim-witnesses from the presence of the defendant while the witnesses testified. The genesis for shielding laws was social science evidence demonstrating trauma to child sex abuse victims who, while testifying, confronted defendants. Because the Supreme Court to date has declined to consider the scope of applicability of Craig, the current legal landscape of shielding rules suffers from a lack of uniformity on the breadth of applicability of shielding. Consequently, if a juvenile witness does not fall within the class of witnesses protected by a shielding statute, then the witness may be forced to testify in the defendant’s presence and without being shielded. Such an event may traumatize the child, just as it might a child sexual abuse victim-witness. This Article contends that Craig should be interpreted to extend to all juvenile witnesses regardless of age, nature of the case, or relationship of the child to the case as victim or witness. The Court’s rationale in Craig is sufficiently broad to warrant extension of shielding to all juveniles in any case, yet narrow enough to avoid eviscerating the right of confrontation. To implement the changes argued for herein, the Article recommends that legislatures adopt the Uniform Child Witness Testimony by Alternative Methods Act with one essential change: revise the Act’s age limit from thirteen years of age to eighteen years of age.

The education of jury members: Influences on the determinations of child witnesses

The present study investigated the impact of an education program on jurors’ abilities to reach truth during trials with child witnesses. The experiments took the form of staged trials, with actors filling the roles of judge, prosecution, defence and defendant. Participants from the general community served as mock jurors in small groups. Prior to the trial, half of the juries were provided with an education package which served to introduce them to the main empirical findings within the child witness literature. Within each education condition, half of the juries viewed accurate child witness testimony during the trial and half viewed an inaccurate version. Analyses of the trial questionnaires revealed significant effects of education on the accuracy of verdicts, with more educated jurors making correct verdict determinations than did uneducated jurors. Educated jurors’ perceptions of the child witnesses were also more accurate overall than those of uneducated jurors.

Improving the reliability of child witness testimony in court: The importance of focusing on questioning techniques

Considerable discussion during recent years has focused on ways to increase the reliability of child witness evidence, and reduce the negative impact of the courtroom environment on children's credibility and their psychological well-being. A large proportion of this discussion has focused on removing child witnesses from the courtroom and developing alternative arrangements by which children can give evidence (e.g., videotaped statements used as evidence-in-chief, closed-circuit television). There is no doubt that these arrangements have played a major role in reducing children's feelings of uncertainty and intimidation, and they have increased the ability of children to tell their stories and answer questions reliably (Cashmore 2002; Eastwood & Patton 2002). However, there are many other factors, apart from the physical environment in which a child's evidence is elicited, that impact on the quality and accuracy of a child witness's evidence. Considerable discussion during recent years has focused on ways to increase the reliability of child witness evidence, and reduce the negative impact of the courtroom environment on children's credibility and their psychological well-being. A large proportion of this discussion has focused on removing child witnesses from the courtroom and developing alternative arrangements by which children can give evidence (e.g., videotaped statements used as evidence-in-chief, closed-circuit television). There is no doubt that these arrangements have played a major role in reducing children's feelings of uncertainty and intimidation, and they have increased the ability of children to tell their stories and answer questions reliably (Cashmore 2002; Eastwood & Patton 2002). However, there are many other factors, apart from the physical environment in which a child's evidence is elicited, that impact on the quality and accuracy of a child witness's evidence.

Child Abuse Witness Protections Confront Crawford v. Washington

cum laude, 2000, Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana. Thank you to my husband, Chad, and my family and friends for their encouragement, to Professor Frank O. Bowman for his assistance in developing this topic, and especially to my daughter for patiently waiting to come into this world until after my final draft was complete. 1. U.S. CONST. amend. VI. 2. See Katherine W. Grearson, Note, Proposed Uniform Child Witness Testimony Act: An Impermissible Abridgement of Criminal Defendants’ Rights, 45 B.C. L. REV. 467, 468 (2004). 3. ROBERT H. MNOOKIN & D. KELLY WEISBERG, CHILD, FAMILY, AND STATE 479, 485-89 (4th ed. 2000). 4. See Coy v. Iowa, 487 U.S. 1012, 1016 (1988) (“[T]he Confrontation Clause guarantees the defendant a face-to-face meeting with witnesses appearing before the trier of fact.”). 5. See Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836, 857 (1990) (upholding statutory procedure allowing child witnesses in sexual abuse cases to testify by one-way closed circuit television); Idaho v. Wright, 497 U.S. 805, 826-27 (1990) (approving procedure under which the child declarant’s statements could be admitted if witness was unavailable and statement bore indicia of reliability but finding statement at issue was not supported by particularized guarantees of trustworthiness). 6. 541 U.S. 36 (2004). 7. Id. at 68-69 (barring admission of testimonial, out-of-court statements unless the witness is unavailable and defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine). CHILD ABUSE WITNESS PROTECTIONS CONFRONT CRAWFORD V. WASHINGTON

Children, hearsay, and the courts: A perspective from the United Kingdom.

Legal and procedural reforms to accomodate children's testimony have continued apace in the United Kingdom since the Criminal Justice Act of 1988. This act introduced live links or closed-circui t television) for child witnesses appearing at Crown Courts and amended the corroboration requirement; the Criminal Justice Act of 1991 permitted videotaped evidence-in-chief, such that investigative interviews carried out by police officers and social workers replace the child's live evidence-in-chief at court (the child still has to appear for crossexamination). Memorandum of Good Practice (Home Office, 1992) was issued by the government to advise on the way such interviews were undertaken. This article reviews the implementation of these and other reforms in relation to the law on hearsay and child witnesses in England and Wales, highlighting both the progress and the difficulties encountered. Further reforms to the adversarial system as it affects children's evidence may yet be introduced. Legal reforms to accommodate child witnesses in the United Kingdom have mirrored those taking place in America, but, unrestricted by constitutional rights to confrontation, have in fact gone further in promoting children's welfare in the courtroom. In England and Wales, the use of live links (videolinks or closed-circuit television) is permitted by the Criminal Justice Act of 1988, and videotaped interviews with children can replace their live evidence-in-chief as a result of the Criminal Justice Act of 1991. Both these innovations are subject to certain procedural requirements and the discretion of the judge, yet their existence in legislation signifies an important change on the value placed on children's evidence and in the way hearsay has been approached in the country with regard to child witness testimony. In this article, we describe hearsay rules in the United Kingdom and present an overview of the recent legislative and procedural reforms pertaining to children's testimony in England (and Wales). It is important to note at the outset that within the United Kingdom, Scotland and Northern Ireland operate independent legal systems, which although broadly similar, do approach children's evidence in different ways (e.g., Flin, Kearney, & Murray, 1996). For example, in Scotland corroboration is still a requirement in all cases before criminal courts, but live links

Children's Eyewitness-Memory Research: Implications for Practice

The authors review the empirical literature relating to child-witness testimony and draw implications for professionals who conduct investigatory interviews with preadolescent children about alleged offenses. Issues related to the quality of communication between the child and interviewer, the interview setting, and specific interviewing techniques are addressed. Practical recommendations are offered regarding the techniques likely to maximize the accuracy and completeness of children's recall of events.

Child Witness Testimony: Is it Sufficiently Reliable to Justify the Protective Procedures Sanctioned by Maryland v. Craig?

Child Witness Testimony: Is it Sufficiently Reliable to Justify the Protective Procedures Sanctioned by <i>Maryland v. Craig?</i>