Pale Shelter, Cold Hands: Making Criminal Justice Better

In memory of Mona. Inaugural Lecture

Identification Procedures and Options for Reform

This article was presented as a Victoria University of Wellington Centennial Lecture during Law Festival Week in 1999. The author notes that while the identification parade is officially the preferred method of identification in New Zealand, very few live parades are organised. Police officers prefer to use photographic identification, for which there is little procedural guidance or training resulting in an ad hoc development of police practice. It is argued in this article that regardless of the method used, a review of the supervision and training of police officers in the area of witness identification is urgently required.This article incorporates qualitative research on identification procedures in New Zealand, funded by a Victoria University Internal Grant. More extensive research in the United Kingdom was completed for the author’s doctoral thesis

Use of Alternative Ways of Giving Evidence by Vulnerable Witnesses: Current Proposals, Issues and Challenges

Fifteen years after the New Zealand Law Commission rejected pre-trial recording of cross-examination, that proposal is back on the reform agenda. Drawing from research examining comparative pre-trial and trial practices in cases of sexual offending, this article discusses the backdrop to the debate surrounding pre-recording, including the provisions of the Evidence Act 2006 and the approach of the courts to alternative ways of giving evidence. The benefits and drawbacks of pre-trial recording of evidence for adult witnesses are canvassed – including practical, evidential and psychological issues – leading to the conclusion that rather than a presumption in favour of any particular alternative way of giving evidence, close consideration of the individual circumstances of each case is required.&nbsp

"I Think She's Learnt Her Lesson": Juror Use of Cultural Misconceptions in Sexual Violence Trials

The extent to which decision-making in sexual violence jury trials is impacted by culturally embedded misconceptions is not well understood. In this article, we provide an insight into the views of 121 real jurors in 18 sexual violence trials, illustrating that rape myth acceptance scales give an incomplete view of when and how jurors might be influenced by cultural misconceptions. Prompted in part by the behaviour and tactics of counsel, jurors in real trials often expect complainants to fight back and to report sexual offending immediately. They also have expectations of complainants and defendants that derive from misconceptions about "real rape". While our study confirms that jurors are susceptible to cultural misconceptions, it also demonstrates the complexity of assessing the extent of their influence and the difficulties in designing reforms to reduce their use