Should Children Testify In Court Essay

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Forcing a child to testify in a court trial can be very crucial or very damaging. A child’s testimony could very well be the evidence that is needed to put someone away for a long time. On the other hand, it is possible to damage that child psychologically, as they would have to relive the experience or scenario that is in question. Then we also have to consider, would a child testify in a certain way to get the outcome that they desire? Would a nine year old testify falsely against the safety of their parent’s so that they could go and live with the other parent? Children are often prize oriented and if someone tells a child that if the testify in a certain way, that there will be an outcome that is very favorable to that child, many times that …show more content…

I think if you will examine the law to this sore of hearing, it is not supposed to be argued, and they are not considered proper witnesses. The court is not supposed to consider in determining a custody, the desires of the children and, in view of their ages, I don’t think I particularly care to entertain their testimony.” This is a controversial ruling because, if the court is unwilling to allow the admission of the child’s testimony, it becomes much more difficult to find convincing proof that the children should be placed into the custody of their father. The sixth amendment right to be confronted with the witnesses against you is heavily involved with child testimony. Nobody wants to force a child to have to sit in a courtroom, in front of someone who has physically and/or mentally abused them, and tell a room full of strangers what happened to them. In Coy v. Iowa, John Coy was tried for sexually assaulting two 13-year-old girls. When the girls were testifying, a screen was placed in front of Coy so that the girls could not see him. At the end of the trial, a jury found Coy guilty. The Supreme Court ruled that Coy’s sixth amendment right was

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