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- Title
CHILD WITNESSES AND THE CONFRONTATION CLAUSE.
- Authors
LYON, THOMAS D.; DENTE, JULIA A.
- Abstract
After the Supreme Court's ruling in Crawford v. Washington that a criminal defendant's right to confront the witnesses against him is violated by the admission of testimonial hearsay that has not been cross-examined, lower courts have overturned convictions in which hearsay from children was admitted after child witnesses were either unwilling or unable to testify. A review of social scientific evidence regarding the dynamics of child sexual abuse suggests a means for facilitating the fair receipt of children's evidence. Courts should hold that defendants have forfeited their confrontation rights if they exploited a child's vulnerabilities such that they could reasonably anticipate that the child would be unavailable to testify. Exploitation includes choosing victims on the basis of their filial dependency, their vulnerability, or their immaturity, as well as taking actions that create or accentuate those vulnerabilities.
- Subjects
UNITED States; CRAWFORD v. Washington; UNITED States. Supreme Court; CLAUSES (Law); EXAMINATION of witnesses; CRIMINAL defendants; LEGAL testimony; CHILD witnesses; U.S. states
- Publication
Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 2012, Vol 102, Issue 4, p1181
- ISSN
0091-4169
- Publication type
Article