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Someone was saying that "asking a nine-year-old to testify in a court before 12 people with their rapist sitting listening to them is a fucking bridge too far. A court setting is designed to intimidate." My thought is, being a witness for the prosecution is not actually all that intimidating, if you have a clear conscience and aren't trying to hide anything. What is there to worry about? You have bailiffs there to protect you physically. You have the prosecutor on your side, standing ready to object to any inappropriate questions. The defense has an incentive not to treat you too badly, since the jury might respond negatively to that. If the kid isn't mature enough to be able to take the stand and look the accused in the eye without breaking down, then I wonder if he is mature enough to understand the difference between lie and truth, and between imagination and reality? Does he understand the importance of the proceedings, and how a man's life can be destroyed by a false accusation? If kids are so much easier to intimidate than other witnesses, then maybe they shouldn't be testifying. How do we know that the prosecution isn't manipulating or controlling them in some way? It's best to have the witness testify in open court, where everyone can observe everything that's going on and make sure there aren't any shenanigans happening. I think part of the point of having witnesses take the stand is so that the jury can observe how they respond to being questioned in front of all those people who are hanging on every word and watching every move they make. Signs of deception may show. If the witness breaks down, maybe that's because he's a liar and can't handle the stress of trying to hide his lies under cross-examination. Don't women sometimes break into tears when they're confronted with their bad behavior, so that the man confronting them will feel guilty for being harsh? Judges will even sometimes even tell these witnesses, "Okay, enough with the tears, let's just get on with the rest of the testimony. We're on a tight schedule, so you need to keep your emotions under control until we recess." If the case against the accused is so weak that it will fall apart without the testimony of a 9-year-old who's unable to testify in open court, then maybe the case should be dismissed. |