The expert witness in child abuse and neglect: An interdisciplinary process

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect Vol. 5; no. 3; pp. 325 - 334
• Main Author: Duquette, Donald N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 1981; Pergamon Press
• Subjects: Abuse/Abuses/Abusing/Abusive; Child abuse; Child/Children/Childhood; Collaborate/Collaboration/ Collaborative; Expert witness; Expert/Experts/Expertise; Interdisciplinary collaboration; Law; Lawyer/Lawyers; Testifying; Witness/Witnesses; Expert witness; Child abuse; Interdisciplinary collaboration; Law; Testifying
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/0145-2134(81)90016-8

The legal system is an important part of a society's response to child abuse and child neglect. Courts need to be guided in their deliberations by experts from many different professions. Consultation and in-court expert testimony is necessary from medicine, psychology, psychiatry, social work and other professions both to prove child abuse and neglect and establish the power of the court to act on behalf of a child but also to guide the court in the intervention strategy most suited to the needs of the child and his family. Non-lawyers often feel uncomfortable in the legal setting. The adversary process is foreign to their training and professional experience. Collaboration with a lawyer greatly improves their effectiveness in court. Lawyers, on the other hand, need to make maximum use of medical and social-psychological experts in the court process in the interests of their clients; but to do so lawyers need a basic understanding of the other professions. With an emphasis on a process of mutual education, the paper presents a framework for collaboration between lawyers and expert witnesses in child abuse and neglect cases. “Expert witness” is defined; informal consultation is encouraged; suggestions for selecting a collaborator are made; initial contracts between lawyer and expert, case conferencing and preparation for trial are discussed; specific advice on direct and cross examination is provided. Cet article, écrit par un juriste, a pour but de guider les juristes impliqués dans des cas de maltraitance d'enfant. Les tribunaux ont besoin de témoignages d'experts, appartenant à des professions très diverses: médecins, psychologues, psychiatres, travailleurs sociaux. Les personnes non-juristes se sentent en général mal à l'aise dans le cadre de la justice. Le processus dit “adverse” leur est étranger. S'ils collaborent avec un avocat, ils deviennent beaucoup plus efficaces. Cependant les avocats et les juristes ont aussi besoin des lumières des autres professions, et doivent avoir une certaine compréhension de ce que font les autres professions. Cet article offre des directives à l'usage des juristes et des experts qui doivent témoigner en justice en cas d'affaire de maltraitance d'enfant.