Judicial and lawyer interventions in trials of child sexual assault
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Author(s)
Martschuk, Natalie
Powell, Martine
Goodman-Delahunty, Jane
Thackray, Simone
Westera, Nina
Year published
2021
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This article presents the results of a study that evaluated the extent to which judges and lawyers intervene during questioning of child and adult complainants in child sexual assault (CSA) cases. Transcripts of the evidence of 120 CSA complainants were analysed according to the frequency and nature of interventions, such as raising issues with the question form, question manner, question content, complainant care, legal procedure or rules. Judges most commonly intervened during cross-examination and to a lesser extent during evidence-in-chief. There was no evidence that judges and prosecutors intervened more frequently with ...
View more >This article presents the results of a study that evaluated the extent to which judges and lawyers intervene during questioning of child and adult complainants in child sexual assault (CSA) cases. Transcripts of the evidence of 120 CSA complainants were analysed according to the frequency and nature of interventions, such as raising issues with the question form, question manner, question content, complainant care, legal procedure or rules. Judges most commonly intervened during cross-examination and to a lesser extent during evidence-in-chief. There was no evidence that judges and prosecutors intervened more frequently with children than with adults. The most common basis for intervention was the question form, but the number of interventions was very low considering the prevalence of complex questions asked by the defence. Less than 1% of the interventions were based on question content.
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View more >This article presents the results of a study that evaluated the extent to which judges and lawyers intervene during questioning of child and adult complainants in child sexual assault (CSA) cases. Transcripts of the evidence of 120 CSA complainants were analysed according to the frequency and nature of interventions, such as raising issues with the question form, question manner, question content, complainant care, legal procedure or rules. Judges most commonly intervened during cross-examination and to a lesser extent during evidence-in-chief. There was no evidence that judges and prosecutors intervened more frequently with children than with adults. The most common basis for intervention was the question form, but the number of interventions was very low considering the prevalence of complex questions asked by the defence. Less than 1% of the interventions were based on question content.
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Journal Title
Journal of Judicial Administration
Volume
31
Issue
1
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Copyright Statement
© 2021 Thomson Reuters. This article was first published by Thomson Reuters in the Journal of Judicial Administration and should be cited as Martschuk, N; Powell, M; Goodman-Delahunty, J; Thackray, S; Westera, N, Judicial and lawyer interventions in trials of child sexual assault, (2021) 31 JJA 3. For all subscription inquiries please phone, from Australia: 1300 304 195, from Overseas: +61 2 8587 7980 or online at legal.thomsonreuters.com.au/search. The official PDF version of this article can also be purchased separately from Thomson Reuters at http://sites.thomsonreuters.com.au/journals/subscribe-or-purchase.
Subject
Forensic psychology
Other law and legal studies
Criminology
Courts and sentencing
Law in context
Legal systems
Social Sciences
Public Administration