The Griffiths Question Map: A Forensic Tool For Expert Witnesses’ Assessments of Witnesses and Victims’ Statements |
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| Authors: | Olivier Dodier M.Sc. Vincent Denault LL.M. |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LAPSCO, Clermont‐Ferrand, France;2. Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie – Laboratoire Travail et Cognition, Maison de la Recherche, Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse cedex 9, France;3. Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marie‐Victorin, QC, Canada;4. Centre d’études en Sciences de la Communication non Verbale, Montréal, QC, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Expert witnesses are sometimes asked to assess the reliability of young witnesses and victims’ statements because of their high susceptibility to memory biases. This technical note aims to highlight the relevance of the Griffiths Question Map (GQM) as a professional forensic tool to improve expert witnesses’ assessments of young witnesses and victims’ testimonies. To do so, this innovative question type assessment grid was used to proceed to an in‐depth analysis of the interview of an alleged 13‐year‐old victim of a sexual assault and two rapes. Overall, the GQM stressed how the interview was mainly conducted in an inappropriate manner. The results are examined with regard to scientific knowledge on young witnesses and victims’ memory. Finally, it is argued that expert witnesses in inquisitorial systems might use the GQM while encountering difficulties to fulfill the legal standards for expert evidence in adversarial systems because of the lack of studies regarding its reliability. |
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| Keywords: | forensic science forensic psychology expert witness eyewitness memory Griffiths Question Map leading question memory reliability assessment |
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