Ethical dilemmas of children testifying in murder case

For the first time in my experience in the newspaper business, it is likely we will see a child testifying in a murder case.

Blue Earth County District Court Judge Kurt Johnson ruled Tuesday that one of the three Munt children who witnessed their father shoot their mother will be allowed to testify as to what they saw.

Johnson had interviewed all three children, a girl who was 7 at the time of the killing, a boy who was 4 and a boy who was 5.

The girl will not be testifying after Johnson determined she was "significantly traumatized" and declined to speak to Johnson at all during the hearing, where Johnson says, he asked general questions, not questions about the case.

The younger boy also will not testify after Johnson determined he may not have been  mature enough to know everything that was going on or understand the court system.

The boy who was five at the time, may be called as a witness, Johnson ruled. He was able to answer general questions including the one where Johnson asked the children if they knew the difference between telling the truth and lying.

This case poses all kinds of ethical dilemmas for newspaper coverage and judges and lawyers as well. We're talking about a young boy who witnessed a traumatic event.

Will testifying further traumatize him? Will reading about his testimony and the case in the newspaper haunt him for the rest of his life? What kind of questions can appropriately be asked of a child who witnessed such traumatic events?

Defense attorneys have a job to cross-examine witnesses, to poke holes in their credibility. How pointed can questions be when asking a 5 year old? How much can the jury believe?

We will evaluate every question as we report the case and try to be sensitive to this young person's needs. At the same time, we'll balance that against what the public must know about not only this case, but the important ethical issues at stake.

If the boy is called to testify, he will testify in another courtroom away from the jury and his accused father.

That's a reasonable accommodation to what is likely to be another very difficult chapter in this young person's life.

Unfortunately, our court system relies on the testimony of witnesses, however difficult that may be at times.