Exploring the influence of courtroom questioning and pre-trial preparation on eyewitness accuracy

当证人在法庭上作证时，他们进入了一个陌生的世界。证人准备课程旨在揭开法庭程序的神秘面纱，并声称帮助证人发展适当的技能，以帮助他们提供最好的证据。当涉及到交叉询问时，证人会被告知律师使用的标准策略，并就如何最好地进行互动给出实用建议。他们被告知交叉询问的基本理由，例如，这是为了质疑对方的证词，并被指示仔细听取问题，在适当情况下要求澄清，永远不要回答他们不理解的问题。支持者声称，审前证人准备使证人“保持警惕”，其结果是他们更有可能监督自己的理解，不太可能被交叉询问的形式误导或过度影响。这些都是重要的主张，但它们尚未受到实证审查。有大量的国际文献记录了律师在交叉询问中采用的策略。这项研究表明，标准的询问技术可能造成混乱，不利于在法律诉讼中提供完整和准确的证词。然而，目前在英格兰和威尔士实行的证人准备对证人准确性的影响尚未被研究人员调查。一些研究调查了证人熟悉技术对儿童处理复杂法庭语言能力的影响，结果令人鼓舞，但所采用的准备方法（小册子、模型和角色扮演）与英格兰和威尔士证人准备提供者使用的方法明显不同。在此背景下，本研究着手调查：(i)标准证人准备技术对成年证人在交叉询问期间使用理解监测策略的影响，例如要求重复、重新措辞或澄清问题；（二）标准证人准备技术对成人证人准确性的影响。在这样做时，它将提供对法律程序的主要参与者（证人、律师、皇家检察署、法官、证人培训提供者、警察）和政府在证人准备技术的实际用途方面具有重大意义的独到见解。证人在法律诉讼（刑事和民事诉讼）中发挥着重要作用，明确和明显的公众利益在于查明既破坏又最大限度地提高法院收到的证据质量的程序。上诉法院最近在R v Momodou [2005] 2 All ER 571中认可了证人准备的做法（同时明确禁止证人指导），人们可能会期望更多的组织直接参与证人准备。目前的供应商包括领先的培训咨询公司Bond Solon、法律学院、法庭学院法学院和皇家检察署，以及为特定专业群体提供服务的小型机构。重要的是，这些证人培训课程主要针对收费的“专业”证人（例如专家证人、警察）。目前，普通的非专业证人，包括刑事诉讼中所涉罪行的受害者，没有同样的服务。通过探索证人准备技术的效用，本研究将有助于确定是否有理由更广泛地提供证人准备服务，从而有助于就这一领域的适当政策进行重要的持续辩论。

When witnesses testify in court they enter an unfamiliar world. Witness preparation courses aim to demystify the court process and claim to help witnesses develop appropriate skills that will assist them to give their best evidence. When it comes to cross-examination, witnesses are given information about the standard tactics used by lawyers and given practical advice on how best to approach the interaction. They are informed about the basic rationale of cross-examination, for example, which is to discredit opposing testimony, and are directed to listen carefully to questions, to request clarification where appropriate and never to answer a question they do not understand. Proponents claim that pre-trial witness preparation puts witnesses 'on their guard' with the result that they are more likely to monitor their own comprehension and are less likely to be misled or unduly influenced by the form of cross-examination questions. These are significant claims but they have yet to be subject to empirical scrutiny. There is a substantial international literature documenting the strategies lawyers employ during cross-examination. This research indicates that standard questioning techniques can cause confusion and militate against the provision of complete and accurate testimony in legal proceedings. The impact of witness preparation as currently practiced in England and Wales on witness accuracy has not been investigated by researchers however. A number of studies have examined the impact of witness familiarisation techniques on children's ability to deal with complex court language with encouraging results but the methods of preparation employed (booklets, models and role-play) differ markedly from those utilised by witness preparation providers in England and Wales. Against this background, this study sets out to investigate:(i) the impact of standard witness preparation techniques on adult witnesses' use of comprehension monitoring strategies during cross-examination e.g. requesting that questions be repeated, rephrased or clarified; and (ii) the impact of standard witness preparation techniques on adult witness accuracy. In so doing it will provide original insights which will be of significant interest to key participants in the legal process (witnesses, lawyers, Crown Prosecution Service, judges, witness training providers, police officers) and to Government with regards the practical utility of witness preparation techniques. Witnesses play a major role in legal proceedings (both criminal and civil) and there is a clear and obvious public interest in identifying procedures that both undermine and maximise the quality of evidence received by the courts. The Court of Appeal has recently endorsed the practice of witness preparation in R v Momodou [2005] 2 All ER 571 (whilst making it clear that witness coaching is prohibited), and one might expect more organisations to become involved in witness preparation as a direct result. Current providers include leading training consultancy Bond Solon, the College of Law, the Inns of Court School of Law and the Crown Prosecution Service as well as smaller operations catering to specific professional groups. It is significant that these witness training courses are primarily aimed at fee-paying 'professional' witnesses (e.g. expert witnesses, police officers). Currently, there is no equivalent service available to ordinary lay witnesses, including victims of crime involved in criminal proceedings. By exploring the utility of witness preparation techniques, this study will help establish whether there is case for making witness preparation services more widely available, thereby contributing to an important ongoing debate regarding appropriate policy in this area.