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LEGISLATION REGARDING SPECIAL PROCEDURES FOR CHILD VICTIMS/WITNESSES IN CRIMINAL CHILD ABUSE CASES

NCJ Number
143418
Date Published
1992
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This document lists State statutes, current through 1991, regarding special procedures for child victims and witnesses involved in criminal child abuse proceedings.
Abstract
Each statute (military and tribal laws are excluded) is annotated. The first section includes legislation that allows or permits the judge to close the courtroom from the public during child victim or witness testimony in criminal child abuse cases; the compilation does not include statutes that refer to the use of cameras in the courtroom. The second section summarizes legislation, passed only in Alabama and California, that specifically allows for the use of leading questions with child witnesses in criminal proceedings. Next follow summaries of legislation specifically permitting the use of anatomically correct dolls, drawings, and other aids in criminal child abuse prosecutions. California and Iowa have laws that limit the length of a child's testimony or restrict the time of day a child can testify in court. The final two sections identify legislation that limits the number of interviews permitted when dealing with child witnesses and that mandates speedy disposition of criminal cases involving child witnesses or victims.