Essay --

Even though I am aware that there have been great strides forward, especially within the past decade, in the implementation of safer and more constructive methods, in regards to child interviewing practices, I am appalled at the gross negligence of our justice system, in their failure to protect children from the brutal onslaught of such damaging interrogation. Not only does it fail to safeguard a child’s health and well-fare, but it also proves counterproductive in the gathering of reliable testimony, and so therefore does not ultimately serve the constructs of justice, either. The criminal justice system, in the United States, has been very slow in recognizing and competently employing the substantial volume of relevant research data that has been available, for the past century, on the subject of the significant differences in the psychological and neurological differences between children and adults. In Europe, there was substantial and illuminating research being carried out, at the turn of the 20th century. In the work of Alfred Binet (1900), on external forces of suggestibility, free recall, and the inherent pressures resulting from a child’s eagerness to please adults, and William Stern’s (1910) research, on the detrimental effects of repeated questioning and leading questions, which were found to literally alter future recall of the same event, there was an emergence of much valuable insight into the subject of child witness testimony (Bruck, 1993, p. 406). An explanation of why the U.S. was so slow to embrace these valuable findings l ies in the differences in the judicial systems, of these countries. In much of Europe there is an inquisitorial form of trail, whereby a judge is responsible for interviewing witnesses. Th... ...g disorder, and an on-going battle with depression. In reading about this case, I am struck first and foremost, by the damaging effects of improperly executed child witness interrogation practices, and the enormous value of the immense body of research and the resultantly improved understanding of the effects of the proper handling of such a delicate undertaking. I can’t help but feel that the interrogation process itself, can in effect be a traumatic event, and the manner in which it is carried out acting as either a benefit or an added stressor, to a child already in obvious distress. These considerations are directly responsible for so many cases of child abuse not being reported, out of a fear of worsening an already painful experience, and underline the great need for, and value of, such protective and progressive institutions, such as child advocacy centers.