Evans Angela D, Lee Kang, Lyon Thomas D
Institute of Child Study, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
Law Hum Behav. 2009 Jun;33(3):258-64. doi: 10.1007/s10979-008-9148-6. Epub 2008 Jul 17.
Attorneys' language has been found to influence the accuracy of a child's testimony, with defense attorneys asking more complex questions than the prosecution (Zajac & Hayne, J. Exp Psychol Appl 9:187-195, 2003; Zajac et al. Psychiatr Psychol Law, 10:199-209, 2003). These complex questions may be used as a strategy to influence the jury's perceived accuracy of child witnesses. However, we currently do not know whether the complexity of attorney's questions predict the trial outcome. The present study assesses whether the complexity of questions is related to the trial outcome in 46 child sexual abuse court transcripts using an automated linguistic analysis. Based on the complexity of defense attorney's questions, the trial verdict was accurately predicted 82.6% of the time. Contrary to our prediction, more complex questions asked by the defense were associated with convictions, not acquittals.
研究发现，律师的提问方式会影响儿童证词的准确性，辩护律师提出的问题比检方更为复杂（扎亚克和海恩，《实验心理学应用杂志》9：187 - 195，2003；扎亚克等人，《精神病学与心理学法律》，10：199 - 209，2003）。这些复杂问题可能被用作一种策略，以影响陪审团对儿童证人可信度的认知。然而，我们目前尚不清楚律师问题的复杂性是否能预测审判结果。本研究使用自动语言分析评估了46份儿童性虐待法庭记录中问题的复杂性与审判结果之间的关系。基于辩护律师问题的复杂性，审判结果的准确预测率达82.6%。与我们的预测相反，辩护律师提出的更复杂问题与定罪相关，而非无罪判决。
