THE IMPACT OF PROTECTIVE SHIELDS AND VIDEOTAPE TESTIMONY ON CONVICTION RATES IN A SIMULATED TRIAL OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE

In Experiment 1 mock jurors watched a videotape simulation of a sexual abuse trial that included a 10-year-old child witness testifying in o ne of three different modalities: (1) The child testified in court whi le directly confronting the defendant (open court condition). (2) The child testified in court with a protective shield placed between the c hild and the defendant (shield condition). (3) The child testified out side the courtroom and the child's testimony was presented to the jury and the defendant on a video monitor (video condition). The mock juro rs judged the guilt of the defendant after watching the entire trial. The modality of the child's testimony had no impact on conviction rate s. In Experiment 2 subjects watched the same trial that was used in Ex periment 1. The trial was stopped immediately after the child testifie d (the child was the first witness to take the stand), and subjects ju dged the guilt of the defendant. The modality of the child's testimony had a significant impact on conviction rates. Subjects in the open co urt condition were more likely to convict the defendant than subjects in the shield and videotape conditions. These findings are relevant to Supreme Court decisions regarding the use of protective devices with child witnesses.