Walking into a courtroom is intimidating.
Now imagine that you're a 6-year-old who saw Daddy beating up Mommy, or you were molested by the neighbor next door, or maybe you're caught in the middle of a custody battle.
Starting in the fall, the University of Arizona will offer help to children in just those situations.
Children with pending court dates will be given the opportunity to participate in Kids' Court School, a program designed to put children at ease in the courtroom.
One of the founders of the program, professor Rebecca Nathanson, moved to Tucson three weeks ago from Las Vegas, where the program was implemented seven years ago.
"The program reduces kids' anxiety so they won't be re- traumatized and they'll be able to tell their story more effectively in court," Nathanson said.
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Children who take part in Kids' Court School attend two one-hour sessions one week apart approximately one week before they are scheduled to appear in court.
During the first session, children learn about the court process, including who the judge and attorneys are and what they do. Children also are told what role they will play as witnesses.
During the second session, the children receive "stress-inoculation training," Nathanson said. They are taught about deep breathing and "positive self-talk."
For example, kids are told that if they are nervous, they should inhale like they are smelling roses and exhale like they are blowing out birthday candles, Nathanson said.
Children are told that if they feel flustered on the stand, then they can think positive thoughts, such as "I'm smart - I can do this," Nathanson said.
The children also participate in a mock trial in which they can play the judge, complete with robes, and all of the other roles, Nathanson said. Children who feel panicked, scared and traumatized about testifying get empowered once they know what to expect, Nathanson said.
Teresa Lowry, the assistant district attorney over the family support and juvenile divisions in Clark County, Nev., loves the Kids' Court School program and would like to see it in every jurisdiction in the nation.
"Once you get into a courtroom, you've got a bunch of lawyers speaking legalese or with a vocabulary children don't understand, and a lot of times children will answer a question when they don't understand," Lowry said. "They think to themselves, 'There's a judge sitting right there, and I'm supposed to answer questions when grown-ups ask them.' "
Children learn in Kids' Court School that they have the right to say they don't understand the question. They also learn that they aren't the only children who have had to testify in court.
"They are told that all of the kids go through the same process, and it's not something they've done wrong, that they are just there to answer some questions so the judge can make some decisions," Lowry said.
Nathanson received her doctoral degree in special education from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and when she was a research fellow at the UCLA School of Medicine, she studied children's testimony.
She was interested by what happened in the McMartin Preschool case in the 1980s. A large number of preschool students claimed they had been molested by members of the McMartin family, but after years of trials, no one was convicted, and the charges were dismissed in 1990.
Nathanson also was aware of a 2004 study that involved a group of 8- to 10-year-olds who all witnessed an event but were interviewed in separate venues afterward.
The heart rates of children who were interviewed in a courtroom were far higher than those of children interviewed in another room, and they recalled far less of what they had seen than the other children did.
Nathanson and Karen Saywitz developed a curriculum they thought would help, and Kids' Court School was born. Six Las Vegas children took part in the program in its first year, and more than 150 participated in it last year, Nathanson said.
Nathanson, who has joined the UA's Frances McClelland Institute as a research professor, will work with law students and the faculty from the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, Cooperative Extension and Bureau of Justice to establish the school. Right now she is spreading the word about the program in the hopes of getting referrals from all over.
In Las Vegas, referrals came from the courts, prosecutors, Child Protective Services, school districts and even defense attorneys who represented young suspects, Nathanson said.
Stephen Russell, the McClelland Institute director, said the program is a win on many levels: The children will benefit emotionally; law school students and human-development majors from the institute will gain much-needed experience; and the criminal justice system will run more smoothly.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
