Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Child Witnesses in the Criminal Courts

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice

  • 11k Accesses

Abstract

The criminal courts have traditionally viewed child witnesses as inherently unreliable. However, decades of research have shown that, under the right circumstances, children can be highly effective and reliable witnesses. Unfortunately, factors which can diminish children’s ability to produce best evidence are endemic in many Australian and New Zealand courts, such as long delays before trial and poor questioning techniques. This chapter briefly outlines these issues before examining innovations in Australian and New Zealand courts which aim to address them. It then explores recent attempts in England and Wales to facilitate children’s best evidence and how these experiences can inform practitioner-led innovations in Australia and New Zealand.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Brennan, Mark, and Roslin E. Brennan. 1988. Strange Language: Child Victims under Cross-examination. Wagga Wagga: Riverina Murray Institute of Higher Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, Emma, and Kirsten Hanna. 2013. Pre-Recording Testimony in New Zealand: Lawyers’ and Victim Advisors’ Experiences in Nine Cases. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology 46 (2): 289–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, Emma, and Fred W. Seymour. 1998. Questioning Child Complainants of Sexual Abuse: Analysis of Criminal Court Transcripts in New Zealand. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 5 (1): 47–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eastwood, Christine, and Wendy Patton. 2002. The Experiences of Child Complainants of Sexual Abuse in the Criminal Justice System. Canberra: AIC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanna, Kirsten, Emma Davies, Charles Crothers, and Emily Henderson. 2012. Questioning Child Witnesses in New Zealand’s Criminal Justice System: Is Cross-Examination Fair? Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 19 (4): 530–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanna, Kirsten, Emma Davies, Charles Crothers, and Clare Rotherham. 2010. Child Witnesses in the New Zealand Criminal Courts: A Review of Practice and Implications for Policy. Auckland: Institute of Public Policy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily. 2002. Persuading and Controlling: The Theory of Cross-Examination in Relation to Children. In Children’s Testimony: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Forensic Practice, eds. Helen L. Westcott, Graham M. Davies, and Ray H.C. Bull, 279–293. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily. 2014. All the Proper Protections—The Court of Appeal Rewrites the Rules for Cross-Examination of Vulnerable Witnesses. Criminal Law Review 2: 93–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily. 2015a. Communicative Competence? Judges, Advocates and Intermediaries Discuss Communication Issues in the Cross-Examination of Vulnerable Witnesses. Criminal Law Review 9: 659–678.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily. 2015b. A Very Valuable Tool: Judges, Advocates and Intermediaries Discuss the Intermediary System in England and Wales. International Journal of Evidence and Proof 19 (3): 154–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily. 2016a. Best Evidence or Best Interests? What Does the Case Law Say about the Function of Criminal Cross-examination? The International Journal of Evidence and Proof 20 (3): 183–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily. 2016b. Taking Control of Cross-Examination: Judges, Advocates, and Intermediaries Discuss Judicial Management of the Cross-Examination of Vulnerable People. Criminal Law Review 3: 181–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily, Kirsten Hanna, and Emma Davies. 2012. Pre-Recording Children’s Evidence: The Western Australian Experience. Criminal Law Review 1: 3–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Emily, Christopher Heffer, and Mark Kebbell. 2015. Courtroom Questioning and Discourse. In Communication in Forensic Contexts: Integrated Approaches from Psychology, Linguistics and Law Enforcement, eds. Gavin Oxburgh, Trond Myklebust, Tim Grant, and Rebecca Milne, 181–208. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henning, Terese. 2015. Obtaining the Best Evidence from Witnesses with Complex Communication Needs, 19. Adelaide, November: Paper presented at Disability Justice Plan Symposium.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, Hal. 2012. Children’s Evidence in Western Australia. In Children and Cross-examination: Time to Change the Rules?, eds. John Spencer, and Michael E. Lamb, 75–91. Oxford: Hart Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, Pamela E., Elissa Koff, and Zella Luria. 1972. The Development of Competence in an Exceptional Language Structure in Older Children and Young Adults. Child Development 43 (1): 121–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, Michael E. 2015. Toward Developmentally Aware Practices in the Legal System: Progress, Challenge, and Promise. American Psychologist 70 (8): 686–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, Michael E., Lindsay C. Malloy, and David J. La Rooy. 2011. Setting Realistic Expectations: Developmental Characteristics, Capacities and Limitations. In Children’s Testimony: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Forensic Practice, eds. Michael E. Lamb, David J. La Rooy, Lindsay C. Malloy, and Carmit Katz, Chapter 2. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell Ebook.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, Michael E., Yael Orbach, Irit Hershkowitz, Phillip W. Esplin, and Dvora Horowitz. 2007. A Structured Forensic Interview Protocol Improves the Quality and Informativeness of Investigative Interviews with Children: A Review of the Research Using the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocol. Child Abuse and Neglect 31: 1201–1231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaRooy, David J., Lindsay C. Malloy, and Michael E. Lamb. 2011. The Development of Memory in Childhood. In Children’s Testimony: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Forensic Practice, eds. Michael E. Lamb, David J. LaRooy, Lindsay C. Malloy, and Carmit Katz, Chapter 3. Chichester: Wiley & Sons Ebook.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lash, Barbara. 1995. Time Taken to Process Sexual Offence Cases through the Courts. Wellington: Ministry of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, Elisabeth, and Yvette Tinsley. 2011. From ‘Real Rape’ to Real Justice: Prosecuting Rape in New Zealand. Wellington: VUW Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • NZ Law Commission. 2015. The Justice Response to Victims of Sexual Violence: Criminal Trials and Alternative Processes. Wellington: NZ Law Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perry, Nancy W., Bradley D. McAuliff, Paulette Tam, Linda Claycomb, Colleen Dostal, and Cameron Flanagan. 1995. When Lawyers Question Children: Is Justice Served? Law and Human Behavior 19 (6): 609–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, Carole. 2007. Reliability of Child Witnesses: A Decade of Research. The Canadian Journal of Police and Security Services 5 (3/4): 142–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plotnikoff, Joyce, and Richard Woolfson. 2009. Measuring Up? Evaluating Implementation of Government Commitments to Young Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings. London: NSPCC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plotnikoff, Joyce, and Richard Woolfson. 2015. Intermediaries in the Criminal Justice System: Improving Communication for Vulnerable Witnesses and Defendants. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Plotnikoff, Joyce, and Richard Woolfson. 2016. Worth Waiting for: The Benefits of Section 28 Pre-Trial Cross-Examination. Archbold Review (8), 6–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, Martine. 2005. Improving the Reliability of Child Witness Testimony in Court: The Importance of Focusing on Question Technique. Current Issues. Criminal Justice 17 (1): 137–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rook, Peter. 2015. Sea-Cange in Advocacy. Counsel Magazine Online, February Issue.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salhany, Roger E. 2006. Cross-Examination: The Art of the Advocate. LexisNexis: Markham.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seymour, Fred, Isabel Randell, Emily Henderson, and Suzanne Blackwell. Forthcoming. The Evaluation of the Whangarei Young Witness Pilot Protocol. Unpublished report, Wellington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, John R. 2012. Conclusions. In Children and Cross-Examination: Time to Change the Rules?, eds. John R. Spencer, and Michael E. Lamb, 171–201. Oxford: Hart Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Institute, Tasmania Law Reform. 2016. Facilitating Equal Access to Justice: An Intermediary/Communication Assistant Scheme for Tasmania?. Hobart: Tasmania Law Reform Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • The Rt Hon The Lord Judge. 2013. The Evidence of Child Victims: The Next Stage. Paper presented at Bar Council Annual Law Reform Lecture, November 21, in London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zajac, Rachel, Julien Gross, and Harlene Hayne. 2003. Asked and Answered: Questioning Children in the Courtroom. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 10 (1): 199–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zajac, Rachel, and Paula Cannan. 2009. Cross-Examination of Sexual Assault Complainants: A Developmental Comparison. Psychiatry Psychology and Law 16: 36–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zydervelt, Sarah, Rachel Zajac, Andy Kaladelfos, and Nina Westera. 2016. Lawyer’s Strategies for Cross-Examining Rape Complainants: Have We Moved beyond the 1950s? British Journal of Criminology. doi:10.1093/bjc/azw023.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The School of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Kirsten Hanna

  2. Henderson Reeves Lawyers, Whangarei, New Zealand

    Emily Henderson

Authors
  1. Kirsten Hanna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emily Henderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kirsten Hanna .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Antje Deckert

  2. University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Rick Sarre

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hanna, K., Henderson, E. (2017). Child Witnesses in the Criminal Courts. In: Deckert, A., Sarre, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55747-2_28

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55747-2_28

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55746-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55747-2

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation