Child Criminal Trial Testimony, Forensic Interviewers as Experts
When a child is a victim of a crime or accident, the child’s testimony will often play a critical role at trial, especially if other evidence is lacking. However, there are obvious issues with a child’s testimony. Will the child be able to communicate his or her thoughts to the judge and jury? Will the child understand the importance of the trial and telling the truth? Is the child being manipulated or unduly influenced? Will a sympathetic child’s testimony unduly sway a jury’s opinion over other persuasive facts and testimony?
The recent South Carolina Supreme Court case State v. Kromah addresses a prevalent practice especially in crimes involving children: the use of forensic interviewers. Given the concern about the truthfulness of children in situations where the child’s welfare is at stake and the competency of children to testify in open court, there arose a filed concerned with training individuals specific expertise in interviewing children and determining the truthfulness of the child. This field is generally called forensic interviewing. If a crime in South Carolina involves a child, the investigation is likely to involve a forensic interviewer and that forensic interviewer is likely to testify at trial.