NCJ Number
193287
Editor(s)
Rebecca Rix
Date Published
2000
Length
441 pages
Annotation
Seven papers and eight appendixes provide information and guidance for clinicians, attorneys, and other advocates regarding issues in litigation in which adults sexually abused as children, many of whom have a period of memory loss, sue their alleged abusers for psychological damages.
Abstract
The first paper traces the history of traumatic-memory studies from 19th-century Europe to present-day America. It provides an overview of five stages of traumatic-memory studies and outlines the confluence of social, medical, and legal developments that have provided the context for recent political and legal responses to child sexual abuse (CSA). The second paper discusses the problems encountered when the scientific and social awareness of CSA is translated into public policy, as it reviews and analyzes delayed-discovery statutes of limitations in adult survivor litigation. The third paper reviews the psychological and behavioral sequelae of CSA and identifies elements of the client's psychological functioning that hold the key to the litigation process. Questions are also posed for the attorney's own self-evaluation. Aspects of litigation that may exacerbate the client's psychological problems are also identified. The fourth paper explores the legal and non-legal issues related to the lawyer's initial case evaluation when contacted by an adult with a claim of psychological damage from childhood sexual abuse. The fifth paper examines the essential role of plaintiff's expert witnesses in countering the "false memory" defense, and the sixth paper discusses how admissibility standards that govern scientific evidence complicate delayed-discovery CSA cases. The seventh paper is a primer on individual and corporate insurance coverage that affects the likelihood of a CSA plaintiff being able to collect significant monetary damages should they be awarded. The appendixes include a State-by-State analysis of statutes of limitations and relevant case law, as well as questions asked by a CSA plaintiff's attorney (accompanied by witness' answers) to plaintiff and defense expert witnesses in the processing of a CSA case that involves plaintiff's repressed memories. Chapter notes and a subject index