NCJ Number
234880
Date Published
1997
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Intended for viewing by Native-American children who will be witnesses in a tribal or Federal court, this video presents age-related, and culturally related information about the responsibilities of various court personnel and particularly a child's role as a witness.
Abstract
While playing basketball with his friends, B.J. (a Native-American boy living on a tribal reservation), tells his friends he is going to be a witness in court. He tells his friends, however, that he is not sure what this means or what will be expected of him. Two of his friends suggest that they talk to B.J.'s grandmother about what it means to be a witness in court. The three children go together to visit B.J.'s grandmother. She explains that B. J.'s role as a witness is "truth-telling," a Native-American term that would be familiar to the children. She offers to explain what happens in tribal and Federal courts through a video. In the video, the three children are transported into a tour of a tribal and Federal court. They go into the courtrooms, where they are greeted by various court personnel who explain their responsibilities in a trial. The court personnel include the prosecutor, defense attorney, the judge, the victim-witness advocate, the U.S. marshal, the court reporter, the court clerk, the court reporter, and the jury. As a means of summarizing points made about what is involved in being a witness, the video puts questions on the screen that might be asked by a child witness and then has one of the three children answer the question. The video jacket outlines steps that the person in charge of the viewing of the video can do before and after the viewing in order to enhance the children's learning experience.