Preparing Children for Court: A Prosecutor's Perspective–An Interview with Nancy Oglesby, Virginia's Domestic and Sexual Violence Resource Prosecutor
Jenna Foster, DCJS Children's Justice Act Coordinator, asked Nancy Oglesby, Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council, to share her insights into how to prepare children for court from a prosecutor's perspective. Nancy has been a career prosecutor in the Commonwealth of Virginia for over 25 years. She is currently Virginia's Domestic and Sexual Violence Resource Prosecutor. Nancy has handled thousands of domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault cases. In addition, she has provided training on these issues to many professionals, including prosecutors, law enforcement officers, advocates, medical professionals, and forensic interviewers.
In your experience, what is the best approach to court preparation when working with a child victim?
Time. Preparing a child victim properly for court is not something that can be rushed. In order for a child to be able to share successfully what is a very personal and often traumatic experience, they must feel safe. Establishing a relationship with a child builds trust, and we all know that building authentic relationships takes time. Prosecutors are extremely busy, but prioritizing the time to meet with children who are going to testify on more than one occasion (and preferably several times) is a foundational key to not only success in the courtroom but also to creating an atmosphere that is safe for disclosure.
How does understanding how children use and develop language impact court preparation?
Every child communicates differently. The younger the child, the more critical it is to understand how developed the child is in terms of linguistic competence. Child forensic interviewers are very well trained in asking questions in developmentally appropriate ways. Prosecutors need training in this area as well. For example, not every child will be able to tell you how many times an event happened. This can be because something became so normal for them that they lost count, or it could be because they have yet to develop the skill of accurately counting events. In either case, if we focus our questions around asking a child to quantify times, we risk encouraging children to answer incorrectly by guessing or providing an answer simply because they want to please.
What approaches do you suggest to make a courtroom more child-friendly?
Prosecutors should spend time thinking about each particular child's needs in their particular courtroom. They can then file a motion in limine that covers things such as modifying the courtroom to accommodate the child witness, having the child take a "child-friendly" oath, allowing the child to bring a comfort item to the stand, requiring questions to be asked in a simple, understandable way on cross-examination, and my favorite, when available, the use of a certified facility dog pursuant to the Code of Virginia § 18.2-67.9:1. If anyone would like a sample motion, they can email me at noglesby@wm.edu and I will be glad to share!
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