3837779
0
Description
Ross et. al - Effect of Shields and
Videotape on Children Giving Evidence
1 Ross et. al
2 Aims
2.1 To find out if the use of protective shields and
videotaped testimony increases the
likelihood of a guilty verdict
2.2 To investigate the effect of protective
devices on jury reaction to testimony
2.2.1 does credibility inflate or deflate
3 300 students (150 each gender)
3.1 100 each condition
3.2 majority were white and middle class
3.3 told it was a study of psychology
and the law
3.4 part of an introductory
psychology class
4 mock trial based on real transcript
4.1 professional film
crew recorded
actors
4.2 three versions
(conditions) created
4.2.1 child's testimony came via video link
4.2.2 child behind 4x6ft screen
4.2.3 child in full view
5 participants watched one of the
three 2hr films
5.1 court case of alleged abuse
5.2 defendant was child's father
5.3 witnesses were mother, two experts (one for
each side), and child herself
5.4 alleged single touch was when
father was giving child a bath
5.4.1 case focused on whether it was innocent
or sexual
6 judge in case read warning to
jury before screen or
videotape was used
6.1 they should not imply guilt by their use
7 afterwards participants gave verdicts and rated
credibility of child witness
7.1 on various aspects of
her story
7.2 also rated defendant on a
variety of dimensions of his
credibility
8 guilty verdicts show no significant difference between conditions
8.1 significant difference between
males and females however
8.1.1 58.6% of females and only 38.6% of males found him guilty
9 jury's perception of defendant
credibility did not change
9.1 once again there was
a gender difference
9.1.1 more females rated less credibility
10 same pattern emerged
for witness credbility
10.1 no difference
across conditions
10.2 gender difference - females rated
higher child credibility
11 follow up experiment done whereby tapes
were stopped after child testimony
11.1 participants in open court now more likely to convict
12 For a lot of cases which involve
kidnapping and domestic
violence, the only other child is
a witness
12.1 However giving evidence can be a traumatic
experience for a child
12.1.1 Protective Screens and Videolinks are therefore being used more frequently
12.1.1.1 Although, this may look
as though the child
needs 'protecting' from
the defendant, leading
juries to make the
assumption that they
are therefore guilty