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Rodne sponsors bill to
protect child witnesses
Rep. Jay Rodne,
R-Snoqualmie Valley, is sponsoring a bill that would allow children who
are testifying in a criminal trial to do so via closed-circuit
television and outside the presence of defendants. The closed-circuit
video feed would be sent simultaneously into a room that included the
judge, jury and defendant.
House Bill 3072 states
that a prosecuting attorney can ask for alternative arrangements for
testimony of a child witness under the age of ten. That child witness
does not necessarily have to be an alleged victim in the trial.
Children who testify in
front of defendants sometimes suffer serious emotional or mental
distress that prevents them from communicating effectively. Rodne, an
attorney in addition to being a legislator, believes children need the
comfort and understanding that they will not be threatened by a
defendant.
“Children deserve the
comfort of knowing they can tell the truth without feeling threatened by
a defendant,” said Rodne. “This common sense legislation protects a
child who may have to testify in a criminal trial on very sensitive and
difficult subject matter.”
A hearing was held on HB 3072 this morning. Rodne testified before the
House Judiciary Committee and explained that the bill strikes the
balance of safe-guarding child witnesses while protecting a defendant’s
Sixth Amendment rights. No one testified against the bill.
The 2004 Legislature began on Jan. 12 and runs until March 11.
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For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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