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What's Fair When a Child Testifies? 1
Author(s) -
Lindsay Rod C. L.,
Ross David F.,
Lea James A.,
Carr Cynthia
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1995.tb02650.x
Subject(s) - psychology , credibility , publicity , sibling , social psychology , closed circuit , law , developmental psychology , political science , telecommunications , computer science
Undergraduates (N = 385) watched a 2‐hr, videotaped, mock trial of a child sexual abuse case. The child testified in open court, with a barrier between the child and the defendant, or via closed circuit television. Students enacted the role of a juror, sibling of the defendant, or sibling of the mother of the victim. The judge either did or did not warn jurors that the barrier or video should not be considered evidence of the defendant's guilt. Use of the barrier or video did not influence guilty votes, the credibility of witnesses, nor the perceived fairness of the trial for jurors. Siblings of the defendant perceived these procedures to be biased and their use as unfair. Increased publicity about the use of barriers and closed‐circuit television when children testify is recommended to reduce objections to these procedures.