NCJ Number
128415
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 42 Issue: 1 Dated: (1990) Pages: 1-9
Date Published
1990
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Through a review of relevant psychological studies, this article considers whether child-witness testimony is sufficiently reliable to justify child-witness separation from defendants in child sexual abuse cases, as approved in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Maryland v. Craig (1990).
Abstract
In "Craig" the Court upheld a Maryland statute that offered a State trial court the option to permit use of a one-way video camera so a child does not have to view a defendant while testifying. Despite "Craig's" mention of reliability as a prerequisite of child-witness testimony before it could be admitted when the defendant was prevented from facing the witness, "Craig's" majority ignored the issue. "Craig's" dissent focused on the reliability issue as the main flaw of the majority's decision. The psychological studies reviewed in this article show that children have the capacity to recall events accurately, to resist suggestive questioning, and to provide testimony with competent understanding of the difference between truth and falsehood. Based on these findings, this article argues that children are sufficiently reliable witnesses, as a class, to justify the use of the protective measures approved in "Craig." 51 notes