§ 642-A — Fair treatment of child victims as witnesses

§ 642-a. Fair treatment of child victims as witnesses. To the extent\npermitted by law, criminal justice agencies, crime victim-related\nagencies, social services agencies and the courts shall comply with the\nfollowing guidelines in their treatment of child victims:\n 1. To minimize the number of times a child victim is called upon to\nrecite the events of the case and to foster a feeling of trust and\nconfidence in the child victim, whenever practicable and where one\nexists, a multi-disciplinary team as established pursuant to subdivision\nsix of section four hundred twenty-three of the social services law\nand/or a child advocacy center shall be used for the investigation and\nprosecution of child abuse cases involving abuse of a child, as\ndescribed in paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section\none thousand twelve of the family court act, sexual abuse of a child or\nthe death of a child.\n 2. Whenever practicable, the same prosecutor should handle all aspects\nof a case involving an alleged child victim.\n 3. To minimize the time during which a child victim must endure the\nstress of his involvement in the proceedings, the court should take\nappropriate action to ensure a speedy trial in all proceedings involving\nan alleged child victim. In ruling on any motion or request for a delay\nor continuance of a proceeding involving an alleged child victim, the\ncourt should consider and give weight to any potential adverse impact\nthe delay or continuance may have on the well-being of the child.\n 4. The judge presiding should be sensitive to the psychological and\nemotional stress a child witness may undergo when testifying.\n 5. In accordance with the provisions of article sixty-five of the\ncriminal procedure law, when appropriate, a child witness as defined in\nsubdivision one of section 65.00 of such law should be permitted to\ntestify via live, two-way closed-circuit television.\n 6. In accordance with the provisions of section 190.32 of the criminal\nprocedure law, a person supportive of the "child witness" or "special\nwitness" as defined in such section should be permitted to be present\nand accessible to a child witness at all times during his testimony,\nalthough the person supportive of the child witness should not be\npermitted to influence the child's testimony.\n 7. A child witness should be permitted in the discretion of the court\nto use anatomically correct dolls and drawings during his testimony.\n