Child witness essay

Over the last thirty years, the idea of children as witnesses and the accuracy of their testimony has been widely debated. People are asking themselves if the memories of young children, specifically between the ages of five and ten, can be accurate and in return trusted.

Generally speaking, after the court determined that a child witness is a competent witness, the court will proceed to determine whether the child witness is in a position to give sworn or unsworn evidence.

Thus, suggestion plays a key role when determining what a child is saying, especially during interviewing techniques. This power of suggestion has been used as an anti-child eyewitness testimony force, which has prompted many officials and psychologists to further study this predicament.

The current anxiety about the validity of children’s testimony in court stems mostly from heavily publicized cases of child molestation during the 1980’s…show more content… Second, we must look at the affects of being a witness not only on the legal system but also on the child as an individual.