Communication and cross-examination in court for children and adults with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review

Introduction: Courts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland haveidentified children and adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) as vul-nerable witnesses. The call from the English Court of Appeal is for ad-vocates to adjust questioning during cross-examination according toindividual needs, but what do we know of these needs? This review sys-tematically examined previous empirical studies with the aim of delin-eating the identified communication needs of children and adults with IDduring cross-examination.Methods: A comprehensive search of databases was carried out forpapers that included words relating to three key search areas: intellectualdisability, communication and court.Results: A range of communication challenges were highlightedincluding suggestibility to leading questions and negative feedback,acquiescence, accuracy and understanding of court language. Inaddition, a number of influencing factors were identified including age,IQ level, question styles used, recall memory and delays.Implications: This review has highlighted the need for furtherresearch in some key areas: confabulation, level of ability andperformance indication, using multiple-choice questions for enhancedrecall and accuracy, witness understanding of court language andresearch that takes into consideration other factors beyond IQ levels. Themajority of papers included in the review use experimental methodology.There is a dearth of research of actual court cases and examination offactors pertaining to the court process