"Is It Hard to Remember?" Attorneys' Questions About Children's Memory in Child Sexual Abuse Trials

The accuracy of children's memory, and the way they recall their memories, affects the perceived credibility of their reports. Defense attorneys may be motivated to attack the credibility of children's reports by suggesting their memory of events is flawed, inaccurate, or influenced, while prosecutors may try to enhance children's credibility by highlighting the accuracy of their reports. In the current study, we explored if, and how, attorneys address memory concerns in child sexual abuse trials. Using a qualitative content analysis of 134 transcripts of children testifying about alleged child sexual abuse, we assessed the frequency and content of attorneys' questions explicitly asking about memory. The memory questions we identified suggested a range of attorney motives, including to refresh children's recollections in court, highlight accuracy of (prior) reports, and imply lying or suggestive influence. We also found differences in the types of memory questions prosecutors and defense attorneys asked, supporting that prosecutors and defense attorneys likely have different motives for asking children about memory.