Child witnesses have provided a basis for litigation over the years in criminal justice. There are two main things that people worry about when it comes to having a child witness, one is the anxiety that is put into the child regarding the traumatic experience and the other is the reliability of the testimony. Child testimony has long been considered an important part of the case, but what should be done when there are questions regarding the legal, ethical and professional ways of interacting with children? Do legal, ethical and professional considerations connect to each other when necessary? reaches the children. The first part of a criminal investigation before the court case would be investigations and interviews. Alignments can be difficult for adults to do correctly, especially when they don't really know the person, now put a traumatized child in the same situation. The child already has less memory than an adult, which, accompanied by trauma, can lead to inaccuracies in lineups, particularly if someone looks closely at the suspect but the real suspect is not in the lineup. This part is not so crucial as the police might understand that a wrong suspect is identified if he resembles the real interviewee. The second part of the investigation, which is much more important, is the interview. The interview can present many challenges and may lead children to make false accusations against a person, depending on how the interview is conducted. Some of the problems with interviews are the leading questions and the interaction between the interviewer and the child. An interviewer can actually cause a child to become confused in how they remember things if they don't ask questions appropriately. The interview is... middle of the paper... a child who makes things like testifying difficult for them. Whether there will ever be a good way to use children as witnesses is yet to be determined, however, children often prove to be a vital part of the success of the criminal justice system. Works Cited Greene, E., Heilbrun, K., Fortune, W. H., & Nietzel, M. T. (2006). Psychology and the legal system (6th ed.). Florence, KY: Cengage Learning. The Innocence Project. (n.d.). Knowing the cases: Clarence Elkins. Retrieved 02/27/12 from http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Clarence_Elkins.php.Bischoff, L.A. & McCarty M. (2011). Dayton Daily News: murder and then rush to judgment. Retrieved 02/27/12 from http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton/content/localnews/daily/080606elkins1.html.McElroy, W. (August 15, 2006). An unjustly convicted man freed. Retrieved 02/27/12 from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,208523,00.html.