Chief Felony Prosecutor - Crimes Against Children Division Harris County District Attorney's Office
This training will focus on the common mistakes prosecutors make before and during trial - specifically related to preparing the child victim to testify and then actually calling them to testify at trial. Too often as prosecutors we focus more on how we would like the questioning to proceed, and not how we can support that particular child victim in their testimony. This training will use existing research and examples from real testimony transcripts. Attendees will leave with specific and immediate solutions they can implement right away to improve their questioning of child victims during trial by adapting our usual questioning to each child victim we meet. Every case is different. And every child victim deserves a tailored approach.
Learning Objectives:
Identify common mistakes that prosecutors make while preparing and then questioning child victims in a criminal trial.
Develop techniques to overcome these common mistakes, and instead create strategies to support the child victim in their testimony.
Assess on a case by case basis how to best question that individual child victim and employ that technique while predicting cross-examination.
