Language is key in child abuse trials

LOS ANGELES, July 23 (UPI) -- Defendants in child abuse cases are more likely to be convicted if their attorneys use complex language to question victims, U.S. and Canadian researchers say.

Law school professors Thomas Lyon of the University of Southern California and Angela Evans and Kang Lee of the University of Toronto studied the transcripts of 46 child sexual abuse cases, the University of Southern California reported Wednesday.

The researchers found that when defense lawyers used complex language to question children, their clients were twice as likely to be convicted.

Convictions were particularly likely when children responded to defense questions with a "no" and an explanation of their answer, the researchers said.

The same was not true for questioning by prosecutors.

"The jury has no reason to think that the prosecutor is trying to stump the child," Lyon said.

Their findings are outlined in a study to be published in the August issue of the journal Law & Human Behavior.