Assignment:
Choose one of the following two assignments to complete this week. Do not do both assignments. Identify your assignment choice in the title of your submission.
Option 1: Child Witnesses
According to this week's textbook readings, laws have been enacted to protect children and to minimize emotional damage when it comes to the involvement of children as witnesses. For this assignment, address the following items in a paper.
1. Research the history of children as witnesses in court in order to describe the evolution of legal procedures that regulate practice with respect to child witnesses.
2. Identify statutes that aid children as witnesses.
3. Describe the procedures by which children are aided.
4. Explain how the process protects children while gathering facts to use as evidence.
5. Explain how these laws/statutes you identified in 2, above, relate to the historical reasons why U.S. rules are more restrictive than those established by other countries. (In answering this last question, you may consider evidence law generally and not only laws specific to child witnesses.)
Paper Instructions:
• Your paper should be 2 to 3 pages in length (not including the required title and reference pages).
• Include discussion and citation of at least three credible sources other than (or in addition to) the course textbook.
Option 2: Competent Witnesses
A basic evidentiary prerequisite for a witness is that the witness must be competent. For this assignment, you will write a paper that identifies the basic requirements for a person to qualify as a competent witness. Your paper should address the following.
1. What are the three basic requirements for a person to qualify as a competent witness? Be sure to provide examples.
2. Research the history of competent witnesses in court and describe the evolution of legal procedures that regulate practice with respect to witness competency.
3. Identify statutes regarding witness competency. Then, describe the procedures by which children are aided as witnesses.
4. Explain how this requirement in 3, above, protects the integrity of a case while gathering facts to use as evidence.
5. Explain how these laws relate to historical reasons why U.S. rule s are more restrictive than those established by other countries. (In answering this last question, you may consider evidence law generally, and not only those laws specific to competency of witnesses.)
Paper Instructions:
• Your paper should be 2 to 3 pages in length (not including the required title and reference pages).
• Include discussion and citation of at least three credible sources other than (or in addition to) the course textbook.