Testimony in court is always given under oath, meaning that the witness vows to speak the truth. Nevertheless, this often does not happen. Prisoners often agree with each other on what they are going to say, hoping for a sentence reduction or another deal. Still, there are ways in which judges can deduce whether the testimony is true, says Sophie van der Zee, Assistant Professor at Erasmus School of Economics, in an article by RTL Nieuws and in a broadcast of radio show FunX.
Interview techniques
According to Van der Zee, there are other things that the judge can do to see whether a witness is lying. For example, by using certain interview techniques: 'You can ask whether someone can tell his story in reverse order. If you have really experienced something, you can 'walk back' the events,' says Van der Zee. Lies are often made up in chronological order. 'So it's much harder to tell a made up story in reverse order.'
Well prepared
You can also ask someone unexpected or very specific questions, because people who lie often prepare their story well. ‘People who lie do not necessarily give more or less details than people who speak the truth, but a different kind of details', says Van der Zee. ‘Liars often give details about peripheral issues, so the information around it. They also give less details that can be checked.’
Body language
According to Van der Zee, you can also look at body language, but there is no scientific evidence for this. ‘Does someone raise their chin or press their lips together? Does someone seem more nervous? Then they could be lying. But these things are so small and can also have other causes, so behaviour is not really a reliable indicator. Gathering evidence therefore remains the most important thing.’