SB 946

Current law provides that in any criminal prosecution, the testimony of a child

witness who is under 12 years of age, or under 16 years of age if the interest of justice

so requires, may be taken in a room other than the courtroom and simultaneously

televised in the courtroom if the court finds both of the following:

1. That the presence of the defendant during the taking of the child's testimony

will result in the child suffering serious emotional distress such that the child cannot

reasonably communicate.

2. That taking the testimony of the child in a room other than the courtroom

and simultaneously televising the testimony in the courtroom is necessary to

minimize the trauma to the child of testifying in the courtroom setting and to provide

a setting more amenable to securing the child witness's uninhibited, truthful

testimony.

This bill provides that, in a criminal prosecution for a human trafficking crime,

the testimony of a child witness who is under 18 years of age may be taken in a room

other than the courtroom and simultaneously televised in the courtroom if the court

makes those same findings.