What Can Prevent a Child Hearsay Witness to Testify

Divorces can bring out the worst in people. They tin can lead to people who once alleged their love for each other publicly fighting, hiding assets, making threats—and peradventure worst of all—attempting to turn their children confronting each other.

This latter offense is peculiarly troubling considering it can take a lifelong impact on anybody involved. Information technology breaks down trust and instills fear and lies.

Unfortunately, it'south not but divorces that tin can characteristic lies. Adults with bad intentions can train children to tell lies in a variety of situations and for a variety of reasons. In addition, sometimes children say things that they don't understand simply which they retrieve adults desire to hear. It tin can get pretty murky, especially when the things alleged are sexual in nature.

What is Hearsay?

Hearsay occurs when a court allows a witness to recount something someone else told them.

Hearsay is problematic because the individual who made the statement is not in courtroom or testifying and thus tin can't exist questioned. Plus, the participants in the courtroom can't see this invisible witness and how they handle themselves, making it difficult to decide the truthfulness of the hearsay statement.

Most often, these types of statements aren't immune. If a prosecutor or defense attorney wants to showcase what a item witness said, they generally need to put that witness on the stand. For a child, the individual recounting their tale could be a parent, a teacher, a therapist, an officer, or some other adult who they supposedly opened upwards to.

Every bit with many things, though, at that place are exceptions, and one of those exceptions is kid hearsay.

Section 90.803(23) of the Florida Statutes makes an exception for child victims:

(a) Unless the source of information or the method or circumstances by which the statement is reported indicates a lack of trustworthiness, an out-of-court statement made by a child victim with a physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age of 16 or less describing any act of kid corruption or fail, any human activity of sexual abuse against a child, the criminal offense of kid abuse, the offense of aggravated child abuse, or any criminal offense involving an unlawful sexual act, contact, intrusion, or penetration performed in the presence of, with, past, or on the declarant child, non otherwise open-door, is admissible in show in any ceremonious or criminal proceeding if:

1. The court finds in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury that the fourth dimension, content, and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability. In making its determination, the court may consider the mental and physical historic period and maturity of the child, the nature and elapsing of the abuse or offense, the relationship of the child to the offender, the reliability of the assertion, the reliability of the child victim, and whatever other gene deemed appropriate; and

ii. The child either:

a. Testifies; or

b. Is unavailable as a witness, provided that there is other corroborative evidence of the abuse or offense. Unavailability shall include a finding past the court that the child'due south participation in the trial or proceeding would consequence in a substantial likelihood of astringent emotional or mental harm, in add-on to findings pursuant to s. 90.804(1).

(b) In a criminal activity, the defendant shall be notified no after than x days earlier trial that a statement which qualifies as a hearsay exception pursuant to this subsection volition be offered as evidence at trial. The discover shall include a written argument of the content of the kid's statement, the time at which the statement was made, the circumstances surrounding the statement which betoken its reliability, and such other particulars as necessary to provide full disclosure of the argument.

(c) The court shall make specific findings of fact, on the record, as to the basis for its ruling under this subsection.

Why is Child Hearsay a Problem?

Any type of hearsay is problematic, but child hearsay may exist more than so.

Equally adults, nosotros generally desire to help and protect children. When nosotros hear that a kid says that someone injure them, many people will automatically believe information technology, particularly if they aren't versed in the judicial system and have never heard claims similar that earlier.

Having been a office of the legal system for over ii decades, I understand all also well that sometimes children are used as pawns by malevolent adults. They may exist coached to criminate sexual abuse against a parent, a autobus, or a neighbor. This can make them unreliable witnesses. Children are impressionable, and they oftentimes want to please. Besides, they may exist more vulnerable to threats made by a parent.

This is not to say that children are incapable of testifying to the truth in court. They certainly can. Nonetheless, there are too many instances of children being coached into telling lies to police officers, social workers, or psychologists that then get recounted on the stand up equally truth. These lies can ruin someone's life, and it is only fair that the child hearsay exist adequately challenged.

Child Hearsay Hearings

Before a child'due south testimony is immune into courtroom, a hearing will be held with the approximate to determine whether the testimony tin be presented.

During this hearing, the prosecution volition attempt to show that the child is truthful, that the events they recount take occurred, and that their testimony should be presented during an upcoming case. They may too make the instance that the child will be unable to evidence and that their testimony will be presented by an adult to which they recounted their ordeal.

The defense will take an opportunity to highlight the unreliability of the kid's testimony and question how the data was come across in the first place. The defense tin as well challenge the reliability of the individual the kid made their argument to. The goal of the defense in this situation is to show that the child'southward story is not credible. This can be done by showing that the defendant had an alibi or pinpointing holes in the story that doesn't make sense.

What Other Show Does Child Hearsay Require?

To build a proficient instance, a prosecutor must testify beyond a reasonable uncertainty that some illegal human activity has occurred.

When using child hearsay during a trial, however, if the child testifies, the prosecutor does not demand to utilize corroborating evidence. If the kid does not testify, they do need to find corroborating show to help bolster their case.  That's a lot resting on the words of a child.

This is almost similar a she-said-he-said example, but 1 of the participants is a minor who is likely to automatically draw the sympathy of the jury.

Defendant by a Child? Seek Legal Help

Every accusation is serious when it comes to the legal organization. However, those who are accused of harming children are automatically stigmatized past social club and face up extra difficulties if jailed or incarcerated.

If you're facing charges where a kid is the master witness, information technology'due south crucial that you get help fast. Call Mike G Police force and get an advocate on your side that volition fight for your rights.

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Source: https://www.mikeglaw.com/child-hearsay/