NCJ Number
186305
Journal
Fordham Law Review Volume: 64 Issue: 4 Dated: March 1996 Pages: 2035-2052
Date Published
March 1996
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses ethical issues in the uses and limitation of psychological data when lawyers interview and counsel child or adolescent clients.
Abstract
Lawyers can incorporate the clinical competencies of interviewing and counseling clients as a means of obtaining more reliable information. As the attorney-client relationship is enhanced, the child client not only shares more, but may remember more useful facts; therefore, lawyers should establish good interviewing and counseling skills to enhance interactions with their clients. Furthermore, lawyers must know what questions to ask and how to ask specific questions about when, where, and by whom psychological data are obtained, as well as how the data are converted into the information shared in reports. In considering what an effective lawyer should know about interviewing and counseling children and youth, the author discusses what cultural issues are important for lawyers to know and understand. Beyond race, gender, and language, individuals have many ethnic, family, cultural, and regional nuances. Additionally, a person's socioeconomic status may result in shared experiences with another person of similar means, more so than another of similar race, gender, language, or family tradition. Before lawyers can effectively interview and counsel children and adolescents, they must have some knowledge of youth development and the implications of this knowledge for communicating with children and youth of various ages. The author discusses strategies for working with children and adolescents given what is known about developmental differences. Among the issues addressed are the mechanics of questioning (language or speech, words and expressions, conduct or appearance, attitude and ability to influence, characteristics of good questions, and types of questions); preparatory work; and pre-interview considerations (establishing rapport, demeanor of the client, and image of the interviewer). Other issues discussed are the uses and limitations of psychological tests, cultural incompetence (waiver, transfer, and certification of juveniles as adults), and what is involved in counseling a child or adolescent. 53 notes