NCJ Number
117537
Journal
Hastings Law Journal Volume: 40 Issue: 2 Dated: (January 1989) Pages: 437-456
Date Published
1989
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This article critiques the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Coy V. Iowa (1988), in which the Court found that a one-way screening barrier between the accused and the complaining child witnesses violated the defendant's sixth amendment right of confrontation.
Abstract
Various States have adopted statutes designed to reduce the trauma typically experienced by child witnesses/victims in sexual abuse trials. Laws have mandated such protective means as videotaped testimony, hearsay exceptions, courtroom closure, and the use of closed-circuit television. In the case of Coy v. Iowa, the State placed a screen between the child witness and the defendant, such that the witness was in full view of the defendant, judge, jury, and counsel, but she could not see the defendant because the courtroom was darkened and the screen illuminated. In rejecting this mechanism as a violation of the defendant's right to confront the witness, the Supreme Court erred on two grounds. First, the decision was inconsistent with prior confrontation-clause cases. Second, the majority underplayed the public policies involved. Fortunately, however, the decision should have minimal effect on future adjudications because at least four members of the Court agreed that the protection of child victims is a compelling interest that may, at times, outweigh confrontation-clause values. 148 footnotes.