NCJ Number
138472
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: (July/August 1992) Pages: 595-613
Date Published
1992
Length
19 pages
Annotation
To enlighten the controversy over the admissibility of the testimony of expert witnesses in child sexual abuse cases, this study administered a questionnaire to jurors and mental health professionals with expertise in child sexual abuse to determine consensus among the experts on child sexual abuse (CSA) issues and the difference in knowledge about CSA between jurors and experts.
Abstract
To be admissible, the testimony of an expert must be beyond the common knowledge of the jury and based on information generally considered to be reliable within the professional community in which it is used. To date no empirical data have existed to allow courts to make an informed judgment as to the extent of either juror knowledge or professional acceptance of CSA data. This study addresses this issue. The juror sample consisted of 150 residents of El Paso County (Colorado Springs), Colorado, summoned to jury duty between March and October 1989. The expert sample consisted of 50 authorities identified on the basis of both research and practical experience in CSA. The 40-item CSA Questionnaire used in this study was developed from a review of current literature on CSA. The questionnaire was designed so that subjects were required to state the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with each of 40 statements. Results indicate that experts had strong consensus on 29 of 40 questionnaire items and that relative to experts, jurors had limited knowledge on these issues. The results indicate that many of the scientific findings on CSA are reliable and that the information is often beyond the common knowledge of the jury. These findings support the use of expert testimony in select cases of child sexual abuse. 7 tables, 106 references, and the study questionnaire