NCJ Number
149471
Date Published
1994
Length
125 pages
Annotation
This book is directed at judges, lawyers, police officers, and other professionals who interview children so that they may not only give children an opportunity to understand the language of legal proceedings, but also have an opportunity to make themselves understood.
Abstract
Some of the basic principles around which this book is organized are that one must question children individually; language is shaped by experience so that adults and children do not speak in the same way; while inconsistency in children's language is normal, they take a literal approach to language; and children will not necessarily say they do not understand something. Furthermore, interviewers need to understand that children's responses are not necessarily answers to the questions posed, the ability to recite a list is not the same as the ability to understand its contents, culture affects children's responses and understanding, and even very young children can be competent witnesses in court. The book discusses problems to look out for in one's questioning and problems to look out for in children's answers. The final chapter discusses reasons for language- based inconsistencies in children's testimony. 92 references and 6 appendixes