It is not uncommon for witnesses to testify in the trials experience memory problems, especially if alcohol or trauma were involved in the original event and also for the passage of time, says Christopher Sherrin, associate professor of law at the Western University of London.
Sherrin, who is not involved in the Junior World trial and was speaking in general, says how the courts deal with memory loss depends on a series of factors, the most important thing is whether it is peripheral or central issues for the case, and then, if the loss of memory is accepted as genuine.
“To the extent that someone forgets things that are not terribly significant for their general evidence or for live problems in one case, the courts are more willing to accept that, forgive that and allow it,” says Sherrin.
It becomes more complicated if memory loss is connected to crucial evidence because the witness becomes less reliable.
“If a witness can count only a part of an event or only pieces of an event, then there is always the risk that the judge in fact receives a misleading image and can be lost, even the testimony of a completely honest witness,” says Sherrin.
“If a court feels that a witness is pretending memory loss, in other words, they actually remember, but they falsely claim that it does not, that can have a more significant impact on the evaluation of its credibility.”
