Helping vulnerable in court

Emily Henderson says lawyers and judges communicate in ways beyond the ability of vulnerable people.

Whangarei lawyer Emily Henderson has received an international award for her work towards improving the way courts handle vulnerable defendants and witnesses.

The PhD graduate and former Crown prosecutor has received this year's International Investigative Interviewing Research Group Academic Excellence award. In 2002, she was the first female and legal practitioner recipient of the New Zealand Law Foundation research fellowship, valued at up to $125,000.

The fellowship allowed her to return to Cambridge University, where she completed her PhD in 2000, and conduct research with lawyers and judges who interview people for evidence in court. She wrote eight major papers examining the way vulnerable people are dealt with.

Dr Henderson, a senior solicitor at Henderson Reeves Connell Rishworth in Whangarei, said lawyers and judges communicated in ways that were beyond the ability of vulnerable people, especially children, to understand.

She said children, particularly in sexual abuse cases, could easily be swayed by suggestive language from a lawyer in cross-examination. "Some can't handle it and capitulate."

She has discussed in her papers a promising development in England to help vulnerable people in court which was the use of an expert to monitor and advise lawyers and judges.

"The assistant is often a speech and language therapist who is independent, neutral and will monitor what everyone is saying and give advice to lawyers on how to ask questions so a child understands. It's changing the way lawyers understand language," she said.

Dr Henderson said the treatment of children or those with mental disabilities was something the New Zealand legal system could do better. Her research is already being picked up and used in a practical way in NZ, Australia and Britain. "It's good to see the work out there, helping people make decisions about their policies and practices."