Witnessing especially in children cases prove challenging. Children advocacy requires that witnessing in child cases be done at top notch experience. Andrew Agatson provides tips for making super witnesses in the training center for National Children’s Advocacy Center. During his address, Andrew emphasizes the need to understand hearsay as a form of witnessing. For a start, Andrew determines hearsay as out of court statement that is brought in court to aid in proving a truth in the matter in court. Being a super witness calls for children advocacy officers to understand the varying statutes concerning hearsay in different states. Hearsay statutes in different states vary with nearly thirty exceptions within the ‘Federal Rules of Evidence’. Understanding hearsay helps witnesses to determine trustworthiness of made statement thus assessing the possibilities of admission once made in court. A need for witnesses to understand their areas of expertise forms another basis for becoming a super witness according to Andrew. Knowing the rules of advocacy and being able to utilize them to advance advocacy in witnessing founds the ability to become a super witness. Andrew encourages advocacy officers to understand their field and the rules applicable in advocacy for different states within which the officers practice. Andrew further suggests that understanding the totality of circumstances is crucial for advocacy officers to make their statements in court in a way that influences ruling. It is striking to learn from the webinar that being able to determine the child exhibiting behaviors further strengthens the ability of producing sound evidence in advocacy cases. Forensic interviews assist officers to get much needed information from children. In my opinion, advocacy officers are better positioned to examine children exhibiting behavior during forensic interviews which can be presented in court to support cases.
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