Criminal law: Child witnesses and the confrontation clause
Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology
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.
Description
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Keywords
confrontation clause, child witness, court, child abuse
Citation
Lyon, T. D., & Dente, J. A. (2012). Criminal law: Child witnesses and the confrontation clause. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 102(4), 1181-1323.
URI
http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7443&context=jclc&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2Fscholar%3Fq%3DCHILD%2BWITNESSES%2BAND%2BTHE%2BCONFRONTATION%2BCLAUSE%2Band%2Blyon%2Band%2Bdente%26btnG%3D%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%252C1#search=%22CHILD%20WITNESSES%20CONFRONTATION%20CLAUSE%20lyon%20dente%22
http://hdl.handle.net/11212/1870
http://hdl.handle.net/11212/1870