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Overview Accurate knowledge regarding the dynamics of child sexual abuse and the reliability of children’s eyewitness testimony is crucial for juror decision-making. However, if jurors harbor mistaken beliefs about how children respond to sexual abuse or are not aware of children’s ability to accurately describe their experiences, the likelihood of reaching a fair verdict is reduced….
What is hearsay testimony? There are numerous circumstances where adults provide information about their conversations with children. In informal settings, one parent may report to the other a child’s statement, or a teacher may report a conversation with a child to the child’s parent. In a legal proceeding, statements made by a child to a…
Psychologists and other mental health professionals who provide therapy to patients involved in litigation are sometimes asked by attorneys to provide expert witness testimony. It may be appropriate for a therapist to testify when there are questions involving the nature of a patient’s symptoms, response to therapy, diagnosis, or prognosis. However, in other proceedings, such…
Many referrals that we receive for child custody evaluations include allegations of parental alienation (also commonly referred to as ‘child alienation’). This is a serious allegation that requires thorough, in-depth examination to determine the reason(s) that a child is resisting or refusing contact with a parent. If there is a legitimate basis for a child…
Determining whether a child has been sexually abused can be a challenging and complex process. Child sexual abuse is not an encounter that causes specific, unambiguous symptoms or behavioral problems common to every child victim. Other factors that may make a valid determination difficult include the limited vocabulary of young children, the absence of definitive…