Children may testify outside court proceeding; informing parties
of intention to testify
Sec. 4. The court may not make an order under section 2 or 3 of
this chapter unless:
(1) the testimony to be taken is the testimony of a child who at
the time of the trial is:
(A) less than fourteen (14) years of age; or
(B) at least fourteen (14) years of age but less than eighteen
(18) years of age and has a disability attributable to an
impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive
behavior that:
(i) is likely to continue indefinitely;
(ii) constitutes a substantial impairment of the child's
ability to function normally in society; and
(iii) reflects the child's need for a combination and
sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care,
treatment, or other services that are of lifelong or extended
duration and are individually planned and coordinated; and
(C) found by the court to be a child who should be permitted
to testify outside the courtroom because:
(i) a psychiatrist, physician, or psychologist has certified
that the child's testifying in the courtroom creates a
substantial likelihood of emotional or mental harm to the
child;
(ii) a physician has certified that the child cannot be
present in the courtroom for medical reasons; or
(iii) evidence has been introduced concerning the effect of
the child's testifying in the courtroom and the court finds
that it is more likely than not that the child's testifying in
the courtroom creates a substantial likelihood of emotional
or mental harm to the child;
(2) the prosecuting attorney or the attorney for the county office
of family and children has informed the parties and their
attorneys by written notice of the intention to have the child
testify outside the courtroom; and
(3) the prosecuting attorney or the attorney for the county office
of family and children informed the parties and their attorneys
under subdivision (2) at least twenty (20) days before the
proceedings to give the parties and their attorneys a fair
opportunity to prepare a response before the proceedings to the
motion of the prosecuting attorney or the motion of the attorney
for the county office of family and children to permit the child
to testify outside the courtroom.
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.17.
Last modified: May 24, 2006