Law Commons^™

Washington's Closed-Circuit Testimony Statute: An Exception To The Confrontation Clause To Protect Victims In Child Abuse Prosecutions, Karen R. Hornbeck

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment argues that E.S.H.B. 2809 should be recognized as an exception to the Confrontation Clause by the Supreme Courts of the United States and Washington. This argument rests upon the premise that E.S.H.B. 2809 falls within the boundaries set by previously recognized exceptions to the hearsay rule and by federal and Washington case law. Indeed, the reliability and trustworthiness of the victim's testimony should not turn on the child's ability to withstand the additional psychological trauma often induced by in-court testimony.' Rather, the special problems that these children bring to the courtroom demand compliance with a statute such as …