02/08/1993 03:00 PM House HES

  HB 78:  TESTIMONY OF MINORS IN CRIMINAL TRIALS                               
                                                                               
  Number 187                                                                   
                                                                               
  House Bill 78 was brought to the table.                                      
                                                                               
  Number 190                                                                   
                                                                               
  RENA BUKOVICH, STAFF AIDE TO REP. EILEEN MACLEAN, PRIME                      
  SPONSOR, testified on HB 78.  She read the sponsor statement                 
  from Rep. MacLean (on file in the committee room) saying                     
  that current law allows courts to allow child victims or                     
  witnesses to testify via closed circuit television or                        
  one-way mirrors to allow effective communication and to                      
  avoid trauma to the child.  The bill would allow courts to                   
  extend those privileges up to the age of 16.  She said the                   
  U.S. Supreme Court has upheld such procedures as outweighing                 
  an accused's right to confront witnesses against him.                        
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH said that a position paper on HB 78 from the                    
  Public Defender's office indicated that without compelling                   
  state interest, such a law suffers constitutional infirmity.                 
  She said the state's compelling interest now applied to                      
  those up to 13 years old and could be applied to those up to                 
  16 years old, at the judge's discretion.                                     
                                                                               
  Number 240                                                                   
                                                                               
  REP. VEZEY asked whether a juror might question the value of                 
  testimony from an invisible witness, and whether that might                  
  make it harder to win convictions.                                           
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH said courts have ruled that such testimony is                   
  only allowed under special findings, and that there would be                 
  few cases in which it would be allowed; when 14 or 15 year                   
  olds would deserve protection from the trauma of testifying.                 
                                                                               
  Number 250                                                                   
                                                                               
  REP. BUNDE said testimony from a hidden witness might tend                   
  to prompt a juror's suspicion that the charges forcing such                  
  sequestration might be very serious.  He asked how many                      
  times there had been a need for testimony from a concealed                   
  witness in the past year.                                                    
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH said she did not know, but the court system                     
  might.                                                                       
                                                                               
  REP. BUNDE asked what prompted the bill.                                     
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH said the Maniilaq Association had asked for                     
  such a bill in response to some cases of 14 and 15 year-olds                 
  who experienced stress in testifying.                                        
                                                                               
  Number 282                                                                   
                                                                               
  REP. BUNDE foresaw the potential for extra stress for young                  
  people from small towns going to big cities to testify.                      
                                                                               
  REP. BRICE agreed with Rep. Vezey's concerns about the                       
  validity of a hidden witness' testimony.  He asked why the                   
  bill limited such protection at 16 years.                                    
                                                                               
  MS. BUKOVICH said keeping the limit to those below 16, the                   
  age at which youths can drive automobiles and otherwise                      
  behave in adult-like activities, avoids the question of                      
  whether they are children or adults.                                         
                                                                               
  Number 311                                                                   
                                                                               
  JERRY LUCKHAUPT, LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL WITH THE LEGAL AFFAIRS                  
  DIVISION, which drafted HB 78, said the U.S. Supreme Court                   
  has said the states have a legitimate interest in protecting                 
  children who may have to testify in court, and that the law                  
  does not guarantee face-to-face confrontation in all cases                   
  if it would result in stress for a child.  The availability                  
  of cross-examination and observation by the jury are enough                  
  to protect the accused's confrontation rights.  He said the                  
  age of 16 is the upper limit for many rights, such as                        
  unrestricted driver's licenses.                                              
                                                                               
  CHAIR TOOHEY said she supported HB 78, and that the judge                    
  has discretion to order a witness to testify in seclusion as                 
  a kindness to the child.                                                     
                                                                               
  Number 368                                                                   
                                                                               
  MR. LUCKHAUPT said judges instruct juries not to draw any                    
  conclusions as to the value of testimony delivered from a                    
  witness thus sequestered.  He said such protections would be                 
  infrequently used, but would be helpful.  He offered that in                 
  his experience as a prosecutor he would dismiss a case                       
  rather than require a child to suffer significant emotional                  
  harm by testifying before a defendant if he could not find                   
  any other evidence to effect a conviction.                                   
                                                                               
  Number 426                                                                   
                                                                               
  CHAIR TOOHEY closed public testimony on HB 78 and asked the                  
  will of the committee.                                                       
                                                                               
  REP. KOTT moved passage with individual recommendations.                     
                                                                               
  CHAIR TOOHEY, hearing no objection, declared HB 78 PASSED                    
  WITH INDIVIDUAL RECOMMENDATIONS.                                             
                                                                               
  There being no additional business before the committee,                     
  Chair Toohey ADJOURNED the meeting at 5:04 p.m.