On Friday, April 3rd, the Ruby R. Vale Moot Courtroom on the Delaware campus of Widener Law will serve as the setting for a daylong symposium entitled “The Child Witness.” Offering both Pennsylvania and Delaware CLE credits, the symposium, sponsored by the
Widener Law Review, will bring together leading scholars, researchers, practitioners, and jurists from across the nation to participate in six panels exploring the issues surrounding children as courtroom witnesses.
The symposium will explore the latest studies in child development and their impact on child witness interviewing practices, a child’s competence to testify, appropriate questioning in the courtroom, the use of hearsay in lieu of a child’s live testimony, special accommodations for child witnesses, and ethical issues peculiar to the presentation of child witness testimony. The program is multi-disciplinary, with the first hour devoted primarily to psychology. The presentation and materials are intended for a diverse audience, including judges, lawyers, paralegals, child advocates and court personnel.
The program will open with a continental breakfast and registration at 8:00 am. Associate Professor
Jules Epstein and Professor
John F. Nivala, the Director of the
Trial Advocacy Institute, serve as the Symposium Co-Chairs.
To view the Symposium Agenda and participants, and find out how to pre-register, download the brochure and registration form.