Page 154 - Magistrates Conference 2019

• Liars seem to include longer pauses in their speech than truth tellers;

• They wait longer before giving an answer;
• They make more word and phrases repetitions;

• They make fewer hand and finger movements;

• Liars tend to make general statements;
• They also tend to make shorter statements than truth tellers;

When assessing the credibility of a witness the magistrate should:

• Not make up his mind to quickly;

• Be suspicious but do not show it;
• Use an information gathering style;

• Let the witness repeat himself;

• Ask the witness to elaborate his answers;

• Ask the witness temporal questions;
• Be aware of his own prejudices;

• Use a combination of relevant factors to assess overall credibility;

• Look at the witness evidence in context to assess how it fits in to the overall scheme
of the evidence;

• Give balanced scrutiny to all evidence;

• Do not give too much weight to motive;
• Do not rely on previous consistent statements as corroboration;

• Give clear reasons which must support the conclusion.

A magistrate should state in his statement of reasons which factors influenced the assessment
of credibility of the particular witness. For example:

 Inherent plausibility
 Is the evidence consistent with contemporaneous records/documents?

 Is the witness disinterested?
 Motive to lie/ “axe to grind”

 The timing of statements

 Supporting evidence
 Inconsistencies

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