Cultural Competency Assessment

LLB106 CRIMINAL LAW
CULTURAL COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT
Semester 2, 2016

This assessment is worth 20% of your overall mark for LLB106.

Name: Storme Louw

Student Number: n9445684

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Type your name and student number on this document in the spaces provided above.

2. You will observe 3 video segments. Each segment depicts a different stage of a simulated cross-cultural interaction in a criminal justice environment. You will find the links for these videos in the table on the Assessments page of the LLB106 Blackboard site [Select ‘Cultural Competence Critique – then – Video Segments]

3. After you observe each segment, you will complete a structured critique report, consisting of some guide questions, with a particular emphasis

It is background knowledge that the witness is not related to the accused. However, the prosecutor continues to use the term relative to describe the relationship between Aaron Smith and Sam Smith. Aaron Smith even corrects the prosecutor, by stating that the accused is not his cousin. However, the prosecutor ignores the reply from the witness. Instead the prosecutor turns the statement around to discredit the witness.

By ignoring the clarification of the relationship between the accused and the witness, the focus is lost on figuring out if the accused did the actions in question. Instead of figuring out whether the accused was the person the witness saw, the focus of the questioning turns to examine whether the witness is reliable. This is both a positive and a negative action. The Crown prosecutor will be able to place doubt on the credibility of the witness which can influence the jury’s decision. However, this is can affect the defence as it can lead to an innocent person being charged for a crime that he did not commit.

Question 2
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Displaying similar body language during a cross-examination would normally suggest guilt and a lack of respect. However, the non-verbal actions made by the witness are the opposite of their interpretation. This is due to the actions being appropriate in the cultural context, as making direct eye contact with individuals who are not of relation, is seen to be impolite, while speaking loud like the prosecutor suggests, can be seen as aggressive. Therefore, the prosecutor should have been aware of the cultural differences for non-verbal actions before interpreting the witness’ body language to presume that he was ashamed and