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- Child abuse (98)
- Child witness (67)
- Child neglect (55)
- A. Publications in Peer-reviewed Journals (46)
- Child testimony (33)
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- Child witnesses (30)
- Child psychology (26)
- Child sexual abuse (23)
- Child development (19)
- Child maltreatment (17)
- B. Publications in Books (16)
- F. Short Pieces (12)
- Child interviewing (10)
- C. Publications in Law Reviews (9)
- Child Sexual Abuse (4)
- Putative confession (4)
- Suggestibility (4)
- Child Abuse (3)
- Child Neglect (3)
- Child Witness (3)
- Child interview (3)
- Disclosure (3)
- Interviewing children (3)
- Oath-taking (3)
- Sexual abuse (3)
- Abuse disclosure (2)
- Child Testimony (2)
- Child credibility (2)
- Children (2)
- Children's Memory (2)
Articles 91 - 117 of 117
Full-Text Articles in Evidence
7. The Supreme Court And Reluctant Witnesses: Crawford V. Washington., Thomas D. Lyon
7. The Supreme Court And Reluctant Witnesses: Crawford V. Washington., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
A recent U.S. Supreme Court case is sure to have a major impact on the prosecution of family violence cases in which the victim fails to testify at trial. A number of states have special hearsay exceptions for statements from victims of spouse abuse and child abuse. Those exceptions often allow the statements into evidence even when the victim does not testify (usually with additional requirements, such as corroborative evidence or a finding that the statement has "indicia of reliability"). The U.S. Supreme Court has recently held that if the victim does not testify, "testimonial" hearsay is inadmissible unless the …
6. Educating The Public Through The Michael Jackson Case., Thomas D. Lyon
6. Educating The Public Through The Michael Jackson Case., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Many experts in child sexual abuse likely view the Michael Jackson molestation case with disgust. The case is colored by the media circus, the major players' motives for money and publicity, and the sometimes prurient, sometimes morbid fascination the public has with allegations they view as bizarre and improbable.
7. Expert Testimony On The Suggestibility Of Children: Does It Fit?, Thomas D. Lyon
7. Expert Testimony On The Suggestibility Of Children: Does It Fit?, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
State v. Sloan (1995 [Mo. Ct. App.]) was a criminal case of child sexual abuse. AD., the 6-year-old alleged victim, was dropped off on Friday by her mother at her grandmother's house, where the child's aunt Evelyn and the defendant also resided. Two days later, on Sunday, the child's aunt Anita phoned the child's mother and told her that something was wrong. AD. then told her mother that the defendant had sexually assaulted her the day before. The mother called the child abuse hot line. On Thursday, 5 days after the alleged abuse, a social worker and a police detective …
6. Child Witnesses And The Oath., Thomas D. Lyon
6. Child Witnesses And The Oath., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Despite the liberalization of competency requirements for child witnesses in many countries (Spencer & Flin, 1993; Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act, 1999, s. 53 [Engl.]), a substantial number of courts in the United States and other countries require that every witness take the oath or make some sort of affirmation that s/he will tell the truth (Federal Rules of Evidence 602,2001;Shrimpton, Oates, & Hayes, 1996).In order to guarantee that an oath or affirmation is understood by child witnesses, courts routinely inquire into children's understanding of the difference between the truth and lies and their obligation to tell the truth …
5. Scientific Support For Expert Testimony On Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation., Thomas D. Lyon
5. Scientific Support For Expert Testimony On Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Roland Summit's article on child sexual abuse accommodation (CSAA)(Summit, 1983) describes sexually abused children's secrecy, helplessness, entrapment, delayed disclosure, and retraction. The paper is both admired and maligned. On the one hand, it has been hailed as one of the most influential papers ever written on child abuse (Oates & Donnelly, 1997). On the other hand, testimony on accommodation is often dismissed as dangerous pseudoscience" by both commentators and the courts (Summit, 1992).
4. Interviewing Children In And Out Of Court: Current Research And Practice Implications., Karen J. Saywitz, Gail S. Goodman, Thomas D. Lyon
4. Interviewing Children In And Out Of Court: Current Research And Practice Implications., Karen J. Saywitz, Gail S. Goodman, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
What do we know about children's abilities to provide eyewitness testimony? Until recently, scientific data wee surprisingly sparse. However, beginning in the mid-1980s, the study of child victims/witnesses grew at an astounding rate; now it is a worldwide endeavor. When Melton (1981) published one of the first modern reviews of psychological research on children's testimony, only one contemporary empirical study directly dressing children's eyewitness memory was cited. Today, entire books and journal issues are devoted to research on this topic (e.g., Ceci & Bruck, 1995; Dent & Flin, 1992; Goodman, 1984; Goodman & Bottoms, 1993; Perry & Wrightsman, 1991; Poole …
3. Coming To Grips With Children’S Suggestibility., Karen J. Saywitz, Thomas D. Lyon
3. Coming To Grips With Children’S Suggestibility., Karen J. Saywitz, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
When children are asked to describe what they have seen, heard, or experienced,they bring their limitations along with their capabilities to the task. Adults who rely on children's answers must come to grips with theimperfections and inadequacies, as well as the merits and utility, of children'sreports. Some research findings appear to condemn children's re...ports, others champion their competencies. One way to understand thisinconsistency is to align the studies along a continuum.
5. Support Persons And The Child Witness., Thomas D. Lyon
5. Support Persons And The Child Witness., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
American trial courts often rule on motions that children testify in court accompanied by a support· person. Unfortunately, the potential impact of providing a child witness with a support person has not been thoroughly researched.
6. Applying Suggestibility Research To The Real World: The Case Of Repeated Questions., Thomas D. Lyon
6. Applying Suggestibility Research To The Real World: The Case Of Repeated Questions., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
One can discern two parallel trends in the law and the psychology of child witnesses. In the law, appellate courts are beginning to stem the once powerful movement to increase the acceptance of children’s testimony and the admissibility of children’s out-of-court statements. In psychology, experimental psychologists are amassing evidence of the potential unreliability of children’s memory reports. The trends intersect when courts assess the reliability of children’s statements in order to evaluate the competency of child witnesses, to decide whether to admit expert testimony about the suggestibility of children, and to decide whether to admit children’s hearsay.
4. Let’S Not Exaggerate The Suggestibility Of Children., Thomas D. Lyon
4. Let’S Not Exaggerate The Suggestibility Of Children., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
I’m grateful to Dr. Martindale for introducing the reader to an important and lively debate among practitioners and academics over the relevance of recent research on children’s suggestibility. In my Cornell Law Review article, I argued that the recent research on suggestibility was inspired by highly coercive interviewing techniques in widely publicized cases that are not the norm in child sexual abuse investigations. These techniques include telling children that they have been abused, telling children that a particular person is the abuser, and asking children to imagine details regarding how abuse could have taken place. Moreover, I argued that the …
6. Reducing Maltreated Children’S Reluctance To Answer Hypothetical Oath-Taking Competency Questions., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz, Debra Kaplan, Joyce S. Dorado
6. Reducing Maltreated Children’S Reluctance To Answer Hypothetical Oath-Taking Competency Questions., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz, Debra Kaplan, Joyce S. Dorado
Thomas D. Lyon
Before allowing child witnesses to testify, courts routinely require children to describe what would happen to them if they lied. However, young children often refuse to reason hypothetically if they view the premises as implausible or undesirable, and might be more willing to discuss the consequences of lying if they are asked about another child rather than themselves. On the other hand, children might view themselves as invulnerable to punishment, and therefore believe that whereas other children will be punished for lying, they will not be. In this study, 64 maltreated 5- and 6-year-old children were asked to describe the …
5. Child Witnesses And The Oath: Empirical Evidence., Thomas D. Lyon
5. Child Witnesses And The Oath: Empirical Evidence., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
In Commonwealth v. Corbett, the defendant was charged with sexually assaulting a five-year-old child. As in most cases of sexual abuse, the child was the only witness to the abuse, and the prosecution viewed her testimony as essential. However, before the prosecutor could present the child's testimony to the jury, it was necessary to qualify her for the oath. Most courts require that child witnesses have some understanding of the difference between the truth and lies and the importance of telling the truth, and Massachusetts is no exception. A child who fails the qualifying questions is considered testimonially incompetent, and …
2. Are Battered Women Bad Mothers? Rethinking The Termination Of Abused Women’S Parental Rights For Failure To Protect., Thomas D. Lyon
2. Are Battered Women Bad Mothers? Rethinking The Termination Of Abused Women’S Parental Rights For Failure To Protect., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
It is often stated that intervention on behalf of abused and neglected children is intended to protect the child rather than punish the parent. This stance justifies a no-fault approach to child protection: If a child is being harmed and removal from the parents' custody is the only means to alleviate the harm, removal is justified. If reunification fails, regardless of whether the parent will not or cannot change, the termination of parental rights is justified. It matters not whether the parents acted to harm the child or failed to act to prevent harm. Nor does it matter whether the …
5. Young Maltreated Children’S Competence To Take The Oath., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz
5. Young Maltreated Children’S Competence To Take The Oath., Thomas D. Lyon, Karen J. Saywitz
Thomas D. Lyon
Two studies examined I92 maltreated young children's competence to take the oath. Study I found that despite serious delays in receptive vocabulary, a majority of 5-year-olds correctly identified truthful statements and lies as such and recognized that lying is bad and would make authority figures mad. However, most participants up to 7 years of age could not define "truth" and "lie" or explain the difference between the terms. Four-year-olds were above chance in recognizing the immorality of lying but exhibited a tendency to identify all statements as the "truth. " Study 2 found that 4- and 5-year-olds performed above chance …
4. The New Wave Of Suggestibility Research: A Critique., Thomas D. Lyon
4. The New Wave Of Suggestibility Research: A Critique., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
The new wave in children's suggestibility research consists of a prestigious group of researchers in developmental psychology who argue that children are highly vulnerable to suggestive interviewing techniques. Because of its scientific credentials, its moderate tone, and its impressive body of research, the new wave presents a serious challenge to those who have claimed that children are unlikely to allege sexual abuse falsely. Although we can learn much from the research, concerns over society's ability to detect abuse motivate three criticisms. First, the new-wave researchers assume that highly suggestive interviewing techniques are the norm in abuse investigations, despite little empirical …
1. Where Researchers Fear To Tread: Interpretive Differences Among Testifying Experts In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler
1. Where Researchers Fear To Tread: Interpretive Differences Among Testifying Experts In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler
Thomas D. Lyon
Debates regarding the admissibility of expert testimony in child sexual abuse cases are often characterized as between clinicians and researchers. Clinicians base their judgment on personal experience and anecdotes, whereas researchers base their judgment on scientific findings. Clinicians are willing to testify that a particular child has been sexually abused, whereas researchers cautiously avoid rendering a judgment about any particular case. Clinicians believe that they can interpret children's statements and behaviors to validate abuse, whereas researchers warn that children's statements and behaviors may be shaped by adults, including clinicians. Clinicians are happy to testify (typically for the prosecution), comfortably adopting …
4. Reasoning About Moral Aspects Of Illness And Treatment By Preschoolers Who Are Healthy Or Have A Chronic Illness., Pamela M. Kato, Thomas D. Lyon
4. Reasoning About Moral Aspects Of Illness And Treatment By Preschoolers Who Are Healthy Or Have A Chronic Illness., Pamela M. Kato, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Our study evaluates the moral reasoning skills of healthy and chronically ill 3 and 4 year olds with respect to illness and treatment, by use of an interview technique that reduces verbal demands on the child, We presented children with pairs of scenarios comparing ill characters with characters acting immorally and characters being punished, as well as with pairs of scenarios comparing treated characters with characters acting immorally and characters being punished. We asked children to point to the character who did something "naughty." With the exception of the chronically ill 3 year olds, the children performed consistently above chance …
3. The Relevance Ratio: Evaluating The Probative Value Of Expert Testimony In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler
3. The Relevance Ratio: Evaluating The Probative Value Of Expert Testimony In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Thomas D. Lyon, Jonathan J. Koehler
Thomas D. Lyon
It is hard to overstate the importance of expert testimony in American courtrooms. Much of this testimony concerns scientific matters that are beyond the ken of ordinary experience. In cases where scientific matters play a central role, jurors may give substantial weight to expert testimony or even treat it as dispositive. Standards pertaining to the admissibility of scientific testimony are critical to the outcome in many trials.
1. The Law And Psychology Of The Child Witness. (Review Of The Book Child Witnesses: Fragile Voices In The American Legal System, By L. S. Mcgough. ), Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
McGough's goal is to summarize the developmental psychological research relevant to children's capacities as witnesses and to make recommendations for how the courts should receive children's testimony. In her review, she concludes that children under the age of 12 are deficient: They encode less detail, they fantasize more, they confuse fantasy with reality, they incorporate script based knowledge into their memory, and they are suggestible, both because they acquiesce to authority and because their memory is susceptible to external influence.
3. The Effect Of Threats On Children’S Disclosure Of Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon
3. The Effect Of Threats On Children’S Disclosure Of Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Do abused children refuse to disclose their abuse because they have been threatened by their perpetrators? In Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony, a book that many believe may have a substantial impact on child witness law and practice, Professors Stephen Ceci and Maggie Bruck argue that there is little empirical basis for this "professional `lore"' (Ceci & Bruck, 1995, pp. 300-301).
2. Assessing Children's Competence To Take The Oath: Research And Recommendations., Thomas D. Lyon
2. Assessing Children's Competence To Take The Oath: Research And Recommendations., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
With all of the attention paid to children's performances as witnesses once on the stand, their ability to qualify to take the stand has been relatively neglected. Most courts require that in order to testify, a witness must first take the oath. In its most simple form, an oath is a promise to tell the truth. Taking the oath presupposes that one understands what it means to tell the truth, and that one appreciates one’s obligation to tell the truth when promising to do so. If a young child does not understand the difference between the truth and lies, or …
2. Medical Evidence Of Physical Abuse In Infants And Young Children., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth E. Gilles, Lary Cory
2. Medical Evidence Of Physical Abuse In Infants And Young Children., Thomas D. Lyon, Elizabeth E. Gilles, Lary Cory
Thomas D. Lyon
Determining whether a young child's injuries are due to physical abuse is often extremely difficult. Frequently, the child is nonverbal, and there are no witnesses other than the caretakers that are suspected of abuse. Expert medical opinion is often necessary to diagnose abuse. However, the process by which physicians diagnose physical abuse is something of a mystery to many attorneys, even to those who routinely handle such cases. The medical literature is often impenetrable to those without special training, leading attorneys to defer to expert opinion without fully understanding the basis for such opinion. This is unfortunate. Without understanding the …
3. False Allegations And False Denials In Child Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon
3. False Allegations And False Denials In Child Sexual Abuse., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
The amicus brief in the Kelly Michaels case ignores the risks that abused children will fail to reveal abuse unless direct and sometimes leading questions are asked. Although the brief correctly criticizes previous research for understating the risks that aggressive interviewing practices will lead young children to make false allegations of abuse, it overstates the likelihood that false allegations occur by overlooking the aspects of the Kelly Michaels case and the research it inspired that are unlike the typical abuse case. The author discusses factors that lead abused children to falsely deny abuse and that minimize the likelihood that nonabused …
2. Young Children's Understanding Of "Remember" And "Forget.", Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell
2. Young Children's Understanding Of "Remember" And "Forget.", Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell
Thomas D. Lyon
LYON, THOMAS D., and FLAVELL, JOHN H. YOUNG Children's Understanding of "Remember" and "Forget." CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1994, 65, 1357-1371.3 studies examined young children's understanding that if one "remembers" or "forgot," one must have known at a prior time. In Study 1,4-year-olds but not 3-year-olds understood the prior knowledge component of "forgot"; both groups understood that a character with prior knowledge was "gonna remember." Study 2 controlled for the possibility that good performance on "remember" might be due to a simple association of remembering with knowledge. A significant number of 4-year-olds but not 3-year olds understood that when 2 characters currently …
1. Children's Decision-Making Competency: Misunderstanding Piaget., Thomas D. Lyon
1. Children's Decision-Making Competency: Misunderstanding Piaget., Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Children's decision making ability is important in a number of areas in the law. A child's competence to decide affects how her actions and opinions are evaluated in family court proceedings, dependency actions, delinquency cases, and civil suits.
1. Young Children's Understanding Of Forgetting Over Time., Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell
1. Young Children's Understanding Of Forgetting Over Time., Thomas D. Lyon, John H. Flavell
Thomas D. Lyon
2 studies investigated young children's understanding that as the retention interval increases, so do the chances that one will forget. In Study 1 (24 3-year-olds and 24 4-year-olds), 4-year-olds but not 3-year-olds understood that of 2 characters who simultaneously saw an object, the character who waited longer before attempting to find it would not remember where it was. In study 2 (24 3-year-olds and 24 4-year-olds), 4-year-olds but not 3-year-olds understood that of 2 objects seen by a character, the object that was seen a "long long time ago" would be forgotten and the object seen "a little while ago" …
1. Sexual Exploitation Of Divorce Clients: The Lawyer's Prerogative, Thomas D. Lyon
1. Sexual Exploitation Of Divorce Clients: The Lawyer's Prerogative, Thomas D. Lyon
Thomas D. Lyon
Melvin Belli has suggested, relying on his own experience as an attorney, that sex between a lawyer and his client is the "lawyer's prerogative." This statement stresses the power imbalance implicit in many attorney-client relationships, and implies that sexuality is up to the lawyer as the more powerful member of the dyad. Belli's position is also characteristic of the unique perspective through which lawyers commonly view their practice. Many attorneys believe that as long as the lawyer performs adequately in the courtroom, his indiscriminate behavior in the bedroom does no wrong, nor, in technical terms, breaches any fiduciary duty.