Children and Cross-Examination: Time to Change the Rules?

In 2009, Stephen Barker was convicted of rape on the evidence of a little girl who was four-and-a-half years old at the trial, and about three-and-a-half when first interviewed by the police. The high point of the proceedings was the child's appearance as a live witness in order for Barker's counsel to attempt a cross-examination.

This case focused attention on the need, imposed by current English law, for even tiny children to come to court for a live cross-examination.

In 1989, the Pigot C...