How to Handle a Child Witness

The best possible analogy to cross-examining a child witness is open heart surgery. Every move you make can lose the patient. Thus, you need a skilled surgeon for the job.

Every child is different. You need a lawyer who can understand the intellectual functioning and development of the child and what approach will be the most effective. Further, it is crucial to thoroughly investigate the background of the child and his/her family.

The dynamics of a family may contain an infinite number of variations. Likewise, there are many circumstances under which a child may either fabricate sex abuse allegations or be led into believing something bad occurred when in fact it did not. A skilled defense team will explore all possibilities unlike police investigators who simply look for ways to corroborate whatever the child says. Since we have many years of experience in investigating and trying these types of cases, we are in the best position to analyze a particular family setting in order to determine why the child is not telling the truth. Once we have made that determination, we are in a better position to cross examine the child during the trial in an effective manner giving you the best possible chance of a successful defense.