Distorting the Truth of A Child Witness's Testimony

CHILDREN AS WITNESSES

Children present a special challenge when called upon to testify or give a statement in their case. A child’s recollection of the truth can be swayed and even distorted by the insurance company or the lawyer taking the statement or during cross-examination at trial.

In one study (see cite below), it was found that a child’s testimony can be swayed or manipulated in a number of ways:

• Directly by the Lawyer or Person Taking the Statement -- when the insurance company or lawyer taking a statement pretends that he or she knows what happened they may attempt to get the child to confirm it, ignoring anything the child says that does not conform to the lawyer’s view and encouraging anything that does.
• Repeated questions -- children, especially younger children, are more likely to change their answers when asked the same yes or no question repeated during statements or depositions (statements under oath). Answers from children to yes or no questions repeated over and over are likely to become more firm and confident, regardless of whether they are correct. Therefore it is important to limit the questions ask to a child witness as well as the number of times that the child is called on to give a statement or testify.
• Encouragement to imagine and visualize -- when asked to 'think real hard' about or to visualize events they don't remember, children can come to 'remember' and then present a detailed, coherent narrative of events that never occurred.
• Peer pressure -- children's reports can be influenced by the application of peer pressure ('Johnny told me all about it, and he said you were there, too.') Studies also show that children can incorporate into their own memories experiences that their peers told them about, but which they did not witness themselves. Lawyers may use statements of other witness who may be friends to influence the injured child’s testimony.
• Authority figures -- children tend to regard adults generally as all- knowing and trustworthy, which can influence how they respond to questioning by adults. But they may also be sensitive to status and power differentials among adults -- an important issue when children are interviewed by insurance companies, police officers, judges and defense lawyers.

If your child is hurt in an accident he will likely be called to testify as a witness. Hiring a lawyer who understands how a child’s testimony can be manipulated may make the difference in obtaining compensation.

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Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony by Stephen J. Ceci, Ph.D., and Maggie Bruck, Ph.D., Published by the American Psychological Association (1996).

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