The child witness in the accusatorial system
- Authors: Müller, Karen, 1964-
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3715 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007708 , Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Description: For the purpose of this study tbe child witness in the accusatorial system will be viewed as a source of information. When a witness gives evidence in court, the function of the witness is to provide the court with certain information. A number of crucial questions arise when the witness is a child. Do children bave the ability to remember and relate an event accurately? Are children prone to suggestion and fantasy? What effect, if any, does the court environment have on a child 's ability to convey information? What perceptions do children have about the legal process, and how do these perceptions affect their ability to testify? Do adults influence the information which children impart by the techniques they employ to obtain such information? Accepting the hypothesis that child witnesses are sources of information, the purpose of this study is to evaluate all aspects of the criminal justice system relating to child witnesses as well as available research on children to determine whether it is possible to obtain reliable and accurate information from children. Proposals will be formulated regarding the most successful methods of obtaining reliable and accurate information from children, and how these can be adapted for use by the legal system. The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to children in the legal system that will be fair to children while at the same time protecting the rights of the accused, and which will lead to a successful method of obtaining accurate information.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
- Authors: Müller, Karen, 1964-
- Date: 1998
- Subjects: Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3715 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007708 , Child witnesses , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. , Child witnesses -- South Africa , Evidence (Law)
- Description: For the purpose of this study tbe child witness in the accusatorial system will be viewed as a source of information. When a witness gives evidence in court, the function of the witness is to provide the court with certain information. A number of crucial questions arise when the witness is a child. Do children bave the ability to remember and relate an event accurately? Are children prone to suggestion and fantasy? What effect, if any, does the court environment have on a child 's ability to convey information? What perceptions do children have about the legal process, and how do these perceptions affect their ability to testify? Do adults influence the information which children impart by the techniques they employ to obtain such information? Accepting the hypothesis that child witnesses are sources of information, the purpose of this study is to evaluate all aspects of the criminal justice system relating to child witnesses as well as available research on children to determine whether it is possible to obtain reliable and accurate information from children. Proposals will be formulated regarding the most successful methods of obtaining reliable and accurate information from children, and how these can be adapted for use by the legal system. The purpose of the study is to develop an approach to children in the legal system that will be fair to children while at the same time protecting the rights of the accused, and which will lead to a successful method of obtaining accurate information.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
Determining the competency of children with developmental delays to testify in criminal trials
- Authors: Van Niekerk, Hester Aletta
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Child witnesses -- South Africa , Developmentally disabled children -- South Africa , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa , Evidence (Law) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3722 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017878
- Description: In South Africa children are required to testify under oath or admonition. The shortcomings of the competency test are of particular relevance to children with developmental disabilities, since courts are not equipped to adequately assess the competency of these children to give evidence. One component of testimonial competency, namely the understanding of the concepts truth and lies, is overemphasised and is examined with questions that are developmentally inappropriate for child witnesses in general. For children with cognitive disabilities, such questions create barriers for participation in the truth-seeking process. Consequently, convictions have been set aside on appeal owing to procedural irregularities found in the implementation of this test. In the literature review on testimonial competency, attention was given to restrictions that specific developmental disabilities impose on the perceptual, cognitive, communication and moral development of children. Two of four components – narrative ability and moral capacity – were studied in a sample of 184 children in middle childhood. Participants’ ability to give coherent and detailed accounts of events, their understanding of the concepts truth, lies, promises and the oath, and the Lyon and Saywitz oath-taking competency test, were investigated. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data analysis. Three groups were identified: those children with very limited, average or full testimonial competency. Their capacities were found to be related to maturation of cognitive functions and level of intellectual functioning. Participants were better able to demonstrate their understanding of truth and falsity by responding to the oathtaking test than giving verbal descriptions of these concepts. Whereas 1 percent of participants had a conceptual understanding of an oath, 15 percent understood the concept of a promise. Syncretism and confabulation compromised the narrative accounts of a substantial number of participants. Syncretism relates to immature narrative ability: correct details are combined in an illogical fashion. Confabulation refers to filling memory gaps with fabricated information. Guidelines on the competency determination of children with developmental disabilities were compiled. It is suggested that the competency examination be replaced by a formal, pre-trial competency assessment. The court should also receive expert evidence on how to facilitate meaningful participation when a child with sufficient testimonial competence is the witness.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Van Niekerk, Hester Aletta
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Child witnesses -- South Africa , Developmentally disabled children -- South Africa , Children -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa , Evidence (Law) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3722 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017878
- Description: In South Africa children are required to testify under oath or admonition. The shortcomings of the competency test are of particular relevance to children with developmental disabilities, since courts are not equipped to adequately assess the competency of these children to give evidence. One component of testimonial competency, namely the understanding of the concepts truth and lies, is overemphasised and is examined with questions that are developmentally inappropriate for child witnesses in general. For children with cognitive disabilities, such questions create barriers for participation in the truth-seeking process. Consequently, convictions have been set aside on appeal owing to procedural irregularities found in the implementation of this test. In the literature review on testimonial competency, attention was given to restrictions that specific developmental disabilities impose on the perceptual, cognitive, communication and moral development of children. Two of four components – narrative ability and moral capacity – were studied in a sample of 184 children in middle childhood. Participants’ ability to give coherent and detailed accounts of events, their understanding of the concepts truth, lies, promises and the oath, and the Lyon and Saywitz oath-taking competency test, were investigated. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data analysis. Three groups were identified: those children with very limited, average or full testimonial competency. Their capacities were found to be related to maturation of cognitive functions and level of intellectual functioning. Participants were better able to demonstrate their understanding of truth and falsity by responding to the oathtaking test than giving verbal descriptions of these concepts. Whereas 1 percent of participants had a conceptual understanding of an oath, 15 percent understood the concept of a promise. Syncretism and confabulation compromised the narrative accounts of a substantial number of participants. Syncretism relates to immature narrative ability: correct details are combined in an illogical fashion. Confabulation refers to filling memory gaps with fabricated information. Guidelines on the competency determination of children with developmental disabilities were compiled. It is suggested that the competency examination be replaced by a formal, pre-trial competency assessment. The court should also receive expert evidence on how to facilitate meaningful participation when a child with sufficient testimonial competence is the witness.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
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