Criminal law: Child witnesses and the confrontation clause

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dc.contributor.authorLyon, T. D., & Dente, J. A.
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-21T18:51:28Z
dc.date.available2014-11-21T18:51:28Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractAfter 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.en_US
dc.identifier.citationLyon, T. D., & Dente, J. A. (2012). Criminal law: Child witnesses and the confrontation clause. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 102(4), 1181-1323.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://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
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11212/1870
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherJournal of Criminal Law & Criminologyen_US
dc.subjectconfrontation clauseen_US
dc.subjectchild witnessen_US
dc.subjectcourten_US
dc.subjectchild abuseen_US
dc.titleCriminal law: Child witnesses and the confrontation clauseen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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