NCJ Number
138965
Journal
University of Cincinnati Law Review Volume: 60 Issue: 3 Dated: (Winter 1992) Pages: 827-856
Date Published
1992
Length
30 pages
Annotation
In Maryland v. Craig, a case in which a kindergarten center operator was charged with child abuse, sexual offenses, and battery, the U.S. Supreme Court created an exception to the sixth amendment's confrontation clause guarantee that the accused must be given the right to physically confront witnesses.
Abstract
The defendant objected on confrontation clause grounds to a Maryland court ruling that allowed the judge to receive testimony from child witnesses in the case via one-way closed circuit television. The trial court overruled Craig's objection, Craig was convicted on all counts charged, and the Maryland Court of Special Appeals affirmed the convictions. The Court of Appeals of Maryland later reversed the appellate court's decision and remanded for a new trial. In hearing the case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, when an important public policy is presented that tends to encroach on confrontation clause guarantees, the right to physical confrontation can be limited in order to further state interest. Courts must find through fact-specific determinations, however, that the case requiring the application of the important policy subordinates the accused's sixth amendment rights. Child abuse cases present such a situation; the victim/witness whom the accused seeks to confront may become so severely traumatized if forced to testify in the accused's presence that the integrity of the fact-finding process may be undermined. 227 footnotes