Wed June 11 2008 Mothers' Dilemma Eased
The Washington Legislature has amended RCW 13.34's shelter care provisions to prohibit a court's removing a child from a parent's care solely because the parent is uncertain whether allegations that the child has been abused are true Thu May 15 2008 Children's Memory Errors Can Increase with Age, Study Finds
Children's memory errors can increase with age under some conditions, according to two psychologists at Cornell University. Thu Mar 13 2008 New Rules Aim to Improve Child Custody Evaluations
Psychologists in Washington state now operate under new rules when making child custody evaluations. Wed Oct 11 2006 Vaccinations Linked to "Shaken Baby" Cases
Recent articles suggest that some infant injuries attributed to violent shaking may instead have resulted from vaccinations. Wed Sept 6 2006 Video Recording of Child Interviews Spreads in Washington State
Prosecutors and police across Washington State are embracing video recording as the best way to document investigative interviews of child witnesses. Tue June 13 2006 Ambiguity In Advocate Privilege Law
A pair of recent enactments by the Washington Legislature leaves uncertainty about just who qualifies as a "sexual assault advocate." Tue May 9 2006 Washington Legislature Turns Screw Again
Continuing to ratchet up penalties for sex offenses, the Washington Legislature has set a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for persons convicted of certain sex offenses. Wed Mar 15 2006 David Marshall to Present at Conference
David Marshall will present at a conference sponsored by the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress entitled "Medical Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse," on Wednesday, March 22-24, 2006. Tue Mar 14 2006 Psychologist Debunks "Repressed Memory"
The author provides a succinct review of the evidence that people do not repress memories of their most horrific experiences. Mon Mar 13 2006 David Marshall Featured Speaker at OCDLA Seminar
David Marshall will be a featured speaker at the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association seminar entitled, "Juvenile Law — Allegations of Sexual Abuse," on April 21-22, 2006, at the Hallmark Resort in Newport, Oregon. Tue Jan 10 2006 Supreme Court to Consider When Fresh Reports to Authorities Are Testimonial
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases which turn on when a complaining witness’s first crime report to authorities is a "testimonial" statement. Thu Oct 6 2005 David Marshall to Present at WACDL Seminar
David Marshall will discuss changes to the SSOSA option, in Seattle, on Friday, December 2.. Wed Oct 5 2005 David Marshall to Speak on False Accusations
Freedom Radio will interview David Marshall on the topic of false accusations of child abuse, on Wednesday, October 12. Mon Oct 3 2005 Confrontation, Craig, and CCTV
The Washington Legislature may have authorized violations of the federal Confrontation Clause when it recently amended a statute permitting children to testify by closed-circuit television in certain circumstances. Fri Jun 10 2005 Error Rate in Molest Findings May Flunk Daubert
Decisions by child professionals that child sex abuse has occurred, or has not occurred, are very often wrong, according to a recently-published analysis of existing data. Wed Apr 27 2005 Molested Children Usually Admit It, Study Finds
Research psychologists have found, contrary to what is commonly believed, that most sexually abused children will report their molestation in a formal interview, and few will later recant. Mon Feb 28 2005 Motions Madness
David Marshall will present at the CLE, "Motions Madness," in an event sponsored by the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, on March 18, 2005. Wed Feb 2 2005 Rewriting Child Hearsay Exceptions After Crawford
It's time for many states to rewrite their child hearsay exceptions. Mon Jan 31 2005 Washington Legislature Considers Forfeiture By Wrongdoing
The Washington Legislature is considering a bill to foil hearsay and confrontation objections from defendants who prevent witnesses from testifying at trial. Mon Nov 8 2004 David Marshall to be Featured Speaker at OCDLA Winter Conference
David Marshall will be a featured speaker at the Oregon Criminal Defense Association Winter Conference on December 3-4, in Portland, Oregon. Fri Oct 8 2004 Law Review Note Argues Shaken
Baby Syndrome Flunks Daubert Standard
A student article in the Utah Law Review has measured the scientific support for Shaken Baby Syndrome against the Daubert standard for admitting scientific evidence in court. Mon Apr 26 2004 David Marshall Honored as "Super Lawyer"
David Marshall has been honored as a "Super Lawyer" in Washington State for 2004 by Washington Law & Politics magazine. Wed Apr 7 2004 Washington Legislature Reduces
SSOSA Eligibility & Increases Confinement
The Washington Legislature has revised the law governing the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative in several ways. Wed Feb 11 2004 David Marshall to co-Chair CLE Program
David Marshall will co-chair the continuing legal education program, Allegations of Child Abuse: Experts, Issues & Tactics, on March 19, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle. Thu Jan 8 2004 Promises Stop Lying Better Than Stories Do, Study Finds
A study of children's resistance to the temptation to lie has contradicted one widespread legal assumption about child witnesses but supported another. Thu Oct 9 2003 Experiments Cast Doubt on Shaken Baby Syndrome
Experimental results published in July suggest that shaking a baby cannot cause serious brain injury unless it includes head impact on a hard surface. Wed Sept 10 2003 Washington Legislature Relaxes Corpus Delicti Rule
The Washington Legislature has made prosecutions of child abuse easier by reducing the scope of the corpus delicti rule. Fri July 11 2003 David Marshall to Participate
in 2003 Washington Criminal Justice Institute
David Marshall will be participating in a panel session for the Washington Criminal Justice Institute on September 9, 2003. Mon June 9 2003 David Marshall Honored as "Super Lawyer"
David Marshall was named as a "Super Lawyer" in Washington State for 2003 by Washington Law & Politics magazine. Wed June 4 2003 Study Warns Child Abuse Therapies Are Unproven
According to new guidelines for therapeutic treatment of child abuse victims, few treatments have been empirically demonstrated to work. Some popular treatments, including play therapy, have no empirical support at all for their efficacy. Thu May 1 2003 Children’s Willingness to Deceive Fluctuates with Age, Studies Show
Children’s willingness to deceive varies with age, but not in a linear fashion. This was among the points about children's deception presented in a report at the National Child Abuse Defense and Resource Center’s annual conference in New Orleans. Mon Mar 24 2003 Seattle PI Reports on Project for Recording Interviews
The Seattle PI highlights a yearlong pilot project in King and other Washington State counties to record child interviews. Mon Feb 10 2003 Five Washington Counties Begin Recording Child Interviews on Video
Investigative interviews of children in King, Kittitas, Stevens, Benton, and Franklin Counties have been routinely recorded on DVD since early January, in a Washington state pilot project to study video recording of such interviews. Mon Feb 10 2003 David Marshall Participates in Think Tank Conference
David Marshall participated in a recent conference near Seattle entitled “Developing a procedure to evaluate video taped interviews of children.” Tue Dec 3 2002 Lying: The Early Years
Children as young as two and a half can lie, but many young children tend not to persist in their lies. These are among the research findings recently reviewed by Professors John E.B. Myers and Gail S. Goodman and two students. Mon Aug 5 2002 California Suspends Statute of Limitations in Priest Cases
California has amended its statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse to revive certain expired claims. Thu May 9 2002 Washington State Increases Sex Offender Registration
Several laws concerning mandatory sex offender registration, RCW 9A.44.130, have emerged from the 2002 Washington Legislature. Mon Apr 8 2002 Molestation by Priests Strains Statutes of Limitation
Prosecutors responding to the recent wave of revelations of sex abuse by Catholic priests are working hard to overcome limitations defenses. Mon Oct 29 2001 Prominent Geneticist Urges Preserving
Body Fluids in Child Injury and Death Cases
Some child injuries and deaths that appear to result from abuse actually result from undiagnosed inherited metabolic disorders. Wed Sep 5 2001 Washington Legislature Raises Stakes in Sex Prosecutions
Under the new law, defendants in many sex cases will risk life in prison if they reject offers to plead guilty to reduced charges. Wed Jul 18 2001 Child Advocacy Center Studies Repeating Child Interviews
The National Children's Advocacy Center has completed a two-year study of a child abuse investigation format that permits a child to be interviewed as many as seven times. Mon Jul 16 2001 Scholars Debate Extent of Suggestive Questioning
Research psychologist Stephen Ceci and law professor Richard D. Friedman have published a defense of the work of Ceci and other researchers in child suggestibility. Fri Jul 13 2001 Studies Show Need to Tape Interviews
Two recent studies compared "verbatim" and "near verbatim" note-taking with video and audio taping. Taping was found far more complete. Fri Jul 13 2001 Proof Standards Vary Among
Child Protection Offices in Washington State
A study on taping investigative interviews in child sex abuse cases has turned up varying standards of proof among offices of Washington State's Division of Children and Family Services. Thu Jun 21 2001 Researchers Say Doctors Often Misread Child Genitalia
Many physicians who examine children’s genitalia do not recognize normal genital variation. Copyright © 2004 David S. Marshall