Child Witnesses in the Criminal Courts

Hanna, Kirsten; Henderson, Emily

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55747-2_28

Cited by 7 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…While it may seem surprising to outsiders that such a radical scheme meets with such a positive response, the warm reaction of these lawyers is entirely of a piece with previous research findings (Plotnikoff and Woolfson, 2006; Hanna et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…At trial, intermediaries, like interpreters, are sworn as officers of the court and are not witnesses (Plotnikoff and Woolfson, 2012: 31; forthcoming, 2015; Hanna et al, 2010). They have a strict obligation of neutrality, are available to assist either side and are not liable to be examined themselves except in extraordinary circumstances.…”

Section: Intermediaries In England and Wales: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Commentators and some policy-makers in New Zealand (Hanna et al, 2010; Henderson, 2012: 127–128), Australia (Caruso and Cross, 2012) and even South Africa (Matthias and Zaal, 2011), which already has a more rudimentary intermediary system, are discussing the possibility of introducing a similar scheme. For lawyers in those countries, the prospect of something like the English intermediary scheme can be expected to raise considerable alarm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘A very valuable tool’

Henderson

2015

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof

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The intermediary is the first new, active role to be introduced into the criminal trial in two centuries, and could be seen as a potential threat to the principle of party control of the evidential process. The merits of the scheme are of considerable interest to jurisdictions such as New Zealand, Australia and even South Africa, where similar ideas are under discussion. This article reports on findings from a recent series of interviews with judges, advocates and Registered Intermediaries in England and Wales as to how the scheme is received by practitioners and as to whether it is in fact being experienced as a threat to the counsel's ability to examine witnesses. The findings suggest that there is in fact little to fear from the intermediary system.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Intermediaries In England and Wales: An Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘A very valuable tool’

Henderson

2015

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof

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“…Further delays often occur before children are questioned or cross-examined in court. Delays between initial referral and courtroom testimony reportedly range from approximately 11 (United Kingdom; Plotnikoff & Woolfson, 1995 ) or 15 (New Zealand; Hanna, Davies, Henderson, Crothers, & Rotherham, 2010 ) months, to up to 2 years (United States; Quas & Sumaroka, 2011 ). It is important, therefore, to ask what happens to children's recall of their experiences over extended periods of time.…”

Section: Cwid and Eyewitness Testimonymentioning

confidence: 99%

Preserving the Past: An Early Interview Improves Delayed Event Memory in Children With Intellectual Disabilities

2015

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The influence of an early interview on children's (N = 194) later recall of an experienced event was examined in children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (CWID; 7–12 years) and typically developing (TD) children matched for chronological (7–12 years) or mental (4–9 years) age. Children previously interviewed were more informative, more accurate, and less suggestible. CWID (mild) recalled as much information as TD mental age matches, and were as accurate as TD chronological age matches. CWID (moderate) recalled less than TD mental age matches but were as accurate. Interviewers should elicit CWID's recall as early as possible and consider developmental level and severity of impairments when evaluating eyewitness testimony.

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“…Communication assistance in NZ, like its counterpart in England and Wales, arose out of concern for the treatment of and evidence given by vulnerable witnesses in the adult jurisdiction, especially child witnesses in sexual offence cases (for a discussion of these concerns see, for example, Davies et al, 2011; Hanna et al, 2010; Ministry of Justice, 2010; New Zealand Law Commission, 1996, 2012). The first NZ court case to utilise a communication assistant was R v Hetherington [2015] NZCA 248) (with the original trial decision being in 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I was flying blind a wee bit’: Professionals’ perspectives on challenges facing communication assistance in the New Zealand youth justice system

Howard

McCann

Dudley

2019

The International Journal of Evidence & Proof

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Communication assistance is a form of specialist support for witnesses and defendants in justice settings who have been identified as having communication difficulties. This relatively new role in New Zealand is modelled on the role of the intermediary in England and Wales. This research provides a qualitative analysis of professionals’ perspectives (n = 28 participants) on the challenges of communication assistance for young people facing criminal charges in the New Zealand youth justice system. The findings of this study do not question whether or not communication assistance should exist, but rather how it might best function in practice. The overall implications are that more education and guidance for youth justice professionals is needed.

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Child Witnesses in the Criminal Courts

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

‘A very valuable tool’

‘A very valuable tool’

Preserving the Past: An Early Interview Improves Delayed Event Memory in Children With Intellectual Disabilities

‘I was flying blind a wee bit’: Professionals’ perspectives on challenges facing communication assistance in the New Zealand youth justice system

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