Verbal behavior: an expert counterpoint regarding testimony and its value in the criminal legal framework/criminal

Abstract

This article deals with the issues regarding the value of oral testimony focusing on the analysis of verbal behavior corresponding to the verbal and nonverbal behavior, seeking elements that might or might not be sufficiently valid according to the criminal/legal criteria. The objective of the research is to seek if there are such elements and if their probative value would have weight from a practical point of view in hearings and jury trials, since the medical and forensic evidence does not always adequately fill this need. The aforementioned juridical subsidies would tend to minimize any mistakes that might be made in these areas of Justice, which as such reflects the relevance of the subject. To address this, we undertook a qualitative analysis, based on literary, dissertative, descriptive and exploratory research. Our main theoretical references were the Criminal Procedure Code2 and, for the authorial reference base, Skinner3. We finally arrived at the conclusion that, because it is verbal behavior subject to the influence of several variables, which are not identifiable and whose controllers are not easily noticeable, the testimonial evidence has no concrete basis that could be considered reliable, except when other variables - such as contradictions and/or concrete physical evidence - are found.