NCJ Number
152795
Date Published
1994
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This document summarizes State and territorial legislation authorizing the admissibility of videotaped interviews and statements as evidence in child abuse and neglect hearings.
Abstract
State legislation must be interpreted in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1990 ruling in Idaho v. Wright which established standards for the admission of a child's hearsay statements. The Court, in that decision, rejected the argument that a child's hearsay statements are per se unreliable. Four examples of factors were cited indicating whether hearsay statements made by a child witness in sexual abuse cases are reliable: spontaneity and consistent repetition, mental state of the declarant, use of terminology unexpected of a child of similar age, and lack of motive to fabricate. The Court noted that the Federal confrontation clause guaranteeing a defendant the right to meet a witness face-to-face does not automatically prohibit admission of prior statements of a declarant unable to communicate to the jury during the actual trial.