Impeaching witnesses granted immunity; minors

Impeaching witnesses granted immunity; minors

Despite the sophistication of computer crime, computer crime trials may involve minors and children. A number of computer crime cases involved arrests of people as young as 13.FN49 In most of these cases, only the adults were prosecuted.FN50 Some of the minors, however, were given immunity in return for their testimony.FN51

In a computer crime case involving school age children, a defendant's classmates, those who play computer games with the defendant, and others who know the defendant, may be called as witnesses by the prosecution. These witnesses are usually quite intelligent, and in most respects should be treated with as much caution as an adult witness. If the witness is a "self-styled genius" it may be possible to elicit admiration from the witness, for the crime supposedly committed by the defendant, or an admission that numerous people have attempted to or exceeded in doing exactly what the defendant has done.FN52