Applying Suggestibility Research to the Real World: The Case of Repeated Questions

One can discern two parallel trends in the law and the psychology of child witnesses. In the law, appellate courts are beginning to stem the once powerful movement to increase the acceptance of children\u27s testimony and the admissibility of children\u27s out-of-court statements. Lyon analyzes particular strands of each trend

The History of Children\u27s Hearsay: From Old Bailey to Post-Davis

The papers in this symposium were originally prepared for the Section on Evidence of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools

Child Witnesses and the Confrontation Clause

After the Supreme Court’s ruling in Crawford v. Washington that a criminal defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him is violated by the admission of testimonial hearsay that has not been cross-examined, lower courts have overturned convictions in which hearsay from children was admitted after child witnesses were either unwilling or unable to testify. A review of social scientific evidence regarding the dynamics of child sexual abuse suggests a means for facilitating the fair receipt of children’s evidence. Courts should hold that defendants have forfeited their confrontation rights if they exploited a child’s vulnerabilities such that they could reasonably anticipate that the child would be unavailable to testify. Exploitation includes choosing victims on the basis of their filial dependency, their vulnerability, or their immaturity, as well as taking actions that create or accentuate those vulnerabilities

Do Prosecutors Use Interview Instructions or Build Rapport with Child Witnesses?

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2183This study examined the quality of interview instructions and rapport-building provided by prosecutors to 168 children aged 5-12 years testifying in child sexual abuse cases, preceding explicit questions about abuse allegations. Prosecutors failed to effectively administer key interview instructions, build rapport, or rely on open-ended narrative producing prompts during this early stage of questioning. Moreover, prosecutors often directed children's attention to the defendant early in the testimony. The productivity of different types of wh- questions varied, with what/how questions focusing on actions being particularly productive. The lack of instructions, poor quality rapport-building, and closed-ended questioning suggest that children may not be adequately prepared during trial to provide lengthy and reliable reports to their full ability.This research was supported by NICHD Grant HD047290 to Dr. Thomas Lyon

The effects of question repetition on responses when prosecutors and defense attorneys question children alleging sexual abuse in court.

This study examined the effects of repeated questions (n = 12,169) on 6- to 12-year-olds' testimony in child sexual abuse cases. We examined transcripts of direct- and cross-examinations of 120 children, categorizing how attorneys asked repeated questions in-court and how children responded. Defense attorneys repeated more questions (33.6% of total questions asked) than prosecutors (17.8%) and repeated questions using more suggestive prompts (38% of their repeated questions) than prosecutors (15%). In response, children typically repeated or elaborated on their answers and seldom contradicted themselves. Self-contradictions were most often elicited by suggestive and option-posing prompts posed by either type of attorney. Child age did not affect the numbers of questions repeated, the types of prompts used by attorneys to repeat questions, or how children responded to repetition. Most (61.5%) repeated questions were repeated more than once and, as repetition frequency increased, so did the number of self-contradictions. "Asked-and-answered" objections were rarely raised (n = 45) and were more likely to be overruled than sustained by judges. Findings suggest that attorneys frequently ask children "risky" repeated questions. Both attorneys and the judiciary need more training in identifying and restricting the unnecessary repetition of questions.This research was supported in part by NICHD Grant HD047290 to Thomas D. Lyon and an ESRC studentship to Samantha J. Andrews.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Psychological Association via http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lhb000015

Developing a partcipatory approach to seed production and varietal selection

The performance of UK winter wheat varieties was tested under organic conditions involving farmer participation. Three breadmaking varieties (Hereward, Solstice and Xi19) and their mixture (1:1:1) were grown at 19 UK farms in 2003/04 and 2004/05. The variability of productivity on organic farms was illustrated with more variation among farm sites than among varieties. Seed health was generally high over all sites. Although the trials were successful, more time was needed at project initiation to improve farmer involvement. Some farmers expected more researcher visits, and were reticent about assessing the trials themselves. In contrast, some participants valued the variety performance data on their farms particularly when related to that of other growers. The balance between the goals of the researchers relative to the farmers needs to be defined at project initiation