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Practical Issues in Avoiding Confrontation of a Child Witness and Defendant in Criminal Trial (From Papers From a National Conference on Legal Reforms in Child Sexual Abuse Cases, March 1985, Josephine Bulkley, ed. -- See NCJ-107173)

NCJ Number
107182
Author(s)
D W Lloyd
Date Published
1985
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses practical problems in the use of videotaping and closed-circuit television as a means of avoiding confrontation between child victims and defendants in child sexual abuse cases.
Abstract
Finding a theory of admissibility to introduce the videotape into evidence, cost, personnel, and logistics are major problems in videotaping in child sexual abuse cases. Expert testimony on the child's unavailability as a witness is used most often as a theory of admissibility; however, problems with expert testimony include the availability of experts, the invasiveness of expert evaluations, their cost, and the possibility that the results may undermine the statement's reliability. According to a survey of Washington, D.C., area audiovisual experts, an appropriate videotaping system costs $7,000, not including the $2,400 cost for playback in court. Additional problems are (1) the need for well-trained interviewers who can elicit answers that do not detract from the child's credibility and (2) the complex logistics involved in videotaping. For example, the equipment is bulky, investigations often occur on nights and weekends, and agency rooms ready for taping on a regular basis are necessary. Moreover, an attorney who wants to use closed-circuit television must prove it necessary through expert testimony of the child's present emotional condition and probable emotional condition if he or she testified. Researchers are urged to study several areas of court procedure under controlled conditions to persuade courts of the necessity of these special procedures. 33 references.