How Accurate is a Child’s Memory?
Frequently in child abuse investigations and trials, the primary evidence is that given by the child involved. Sometimes this evidence is the only evidence that the alleged abuse ever occurred. But is a child’s...Read More
When are Police Stings Entrapment?
When does law enforcement cross the line between conducting a legitimate undercover operation and illegally pressuring a normally law-abiding individual to commit a crime? Many arrests for Communication with a Minor for Immoral Purposes arise...Read More
To Testify or Not to Testify? What Factors Defendants in Special Assault Cases Should Consider
If you are facing special assault charges, one of your concerns may be navigating the complexities of trial. You may be feeling anxious about what will happen at trial and especially about the possibility...Read More
Reducing the Adult Consequences of Teenage Mistakes
This spring’s news about the Oregon State University baseball team shows how teenaged errors of some kinds can dog a person into adulthood. Luke Heimlich, the star pitcher of the OSU team, found himself...Read More
Grooming: Fact or Fiction?
Recently the Court of Appeals reversed a Washington man’s convictions, finding that a prosecutor committed misconduct by arguing facts not in evidence about the phenomenon known as “sexual grooming.” In our cases at The...Read More
To Be Blind or Not to Be Blind? Forensic Interviews in Child Sexual Abuse Cases
An important question for forensic interviewers of children in alleged abuse cases is whether to gather information about the case before interviewing the child. The Supreme Court suggested in the 1989 case Idaho v....Read More
A Man Accused of Molesting His Step-Daughter as She Slept
The problem for the jury may have been the accuser was too articulate. Her memory of the child molestation seemed super-human.
An Enlisted Man Accused of Raping his Small Niece
Questioning by the niece’s mother could have unintentionally given the niece information about sexual touching that would have enabled her to describe the child rape in ways that a six-year-old could not do on...Read More
A College Student Accused of Molesting the Son of His Mother’s Friend
During cross-examination of the son at trial the defense obtained a compelling example of the power of his imagination.
A Father Accused of Molesting His Son Years Before
The defense’s careful investigation showed the son’s girlfriend had likely influenced the development of the son’s memory.