Child Witnesses in Court
May 2011
Special issues arise whenever children under 18 years of age are called upon to testify in California courts. Judges and litigants should be familiar with the balance that must be struck between protecting the child and ensuring that the substance of
General Credit
1. If a minor is the victim of specified child abuse or sexual abuse offenses, his or her name may be withheld from the public record upon request of the minor and/or his parents or guardians. True False
2. Since the public’s right to access must trump any trauma and embarrassment from public scrutiny that a minor might suffer, documents cannot be redacted or sealed to protect a minor’s identity in sexual abuse cases. True False
3. A victim’s address and telephone number must be excluded from evidence in every case involving specified sex crimes committed with force, violence, duress, menace, or threat of great bodily harm. True False
4. Attorneys are allowed to disclose any victim’s or witness’s address and telephone number to the defendant and to anyone else, unless specifically barred from doing so by the court, after a hearing establishing good cause for the bar. True False
5. A court has the power to issue an order protecting a victim of a violent crime, including a victim who is a minor, from all contact or specified contact by a criminal defendant in every case, regardless whether there is good cause to believe that harm to, or intimidation of, the victim will result absent the order. True False
6. Even if no good cause is shown, a child under the age of 16 is not allowed in a courtroom or vehicle with an adult charged with or convicted of a crime except when a proper official is also present. True False
7. Due to the special interests of child witnesses, criminal cases that involve minors who are victims or material witnesses are given priority in the order of trials over all other criminal and civil cases including those involving the death penalty. True False
8. A preliminary examination in a felony case may be postponed for one day to accommodate the special physical, mental, or emotional needs of a witness who is 10 years of age or younger. However, a criminal trial involving a minor who is a victim or material witness is to be commenced within 30 days after the defendant’s arraignment, unless a continuance is necessary. True False
9. In specified criminal cases, a witness who is a minor may choose up to two support persons to be present, one of whom may accompany him or her to the witness stand. True False
10. Although judges must strive not to intimidate minors, a judge is absolutely forbidden from removing his or her robe and relocating the parties, the jury, and members of the court to create a more intimate setting. True False
11. If a proper showing is made, a spectator may be removed from the courtroom if he or she is actively intimidating a witness who is a minor in a way that would restrict the witness’s testimony. True False
12. Due to the overriding interest of public access to court proceedings, preliminary examinations may never be closed to the public, even in cases involving sexual abuse of a minor. True False
13. The preliminary hearing testimony of a witness who is a minor may be videotaped and used during trial if the minor is 15 years of age or younger, is the victim of specified child or sexual abuse, and is unavailable to testify because doing so would cause emotional trauma. True False
14. Because it might interfere with a defense attorney’s cross-examination, a minor’s testimony cannot be stopped to allow for breaks and cannot ever be limited to normal school hours. True False
15. Persons accused of child abuse are barred from bringing a civil libel or slander suit against the accusing minor, the minor’s parents or guardians, or any witness in the case for statements made while the criminal charges are pending, as long as the statements were reasonably believed to be in furtherance of the prosecution. True False
16. If there is good cause to believe that a minor who is a material witness will not appear and testify at a criminal proceeding, the court may order him or her to sign a written agreement to appear or post a security. True False
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