NCJ Number
79839
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (1981) Pages: 73-85
Date Published
1981
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Available research suggests that children are competent to testify in court, but research is needed on how the courtroom setting affects children's behavior.
Abstract
Although recognizing that children may be less likely than adults to give reliable testimony, the courts have been reluctant to hold that, because of age, children below the designated age are incompetent to testify. Rather, the competency of child witnesses of any age must be determined on a case-by-case basis, according to whether the child's testimony will enhance justice. In determining a child's competency to testify, the courts have emphasized the child's ability to differentiate truth from falsehood, to comprehend the duty to tell the truth, and to understand the consequences of not fulfilling this duty. In addition, the child must have adequate cognitive skills to comprehend the event witnessed and to communicate memories of the event in response to questions at trial. Available data suggests that given simple, supportive questions, even young children generally have sufficient memory skills to respond to the recall demands of testimony. Finally, research needs to be done on jurors' ability to discern the objective reality from the child's description. Thirty notes and about 65 references are provided.