Summary
California Supreme Court case in which the defendant was convicted of 14 sex offenses against four young girls, three of which were his stepdaughters. The eldest of the three stepdaughters had been repeatedly sexually molested by the defendant from age 8 to age 16. At the time of trial, she was 18 years old and in the 11th grade of high school. When she was called to the witness stand to testify against the defendant, she was extremely emotionally distraught. A small computer monitor that is normally affixed to the witness stand was slightly elevated so that it blocked her view of the defendant. The minor modification to the witness stand eased her emotions and enabled her to testify without further incident. The defendant argued that his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses against him was violated because he could not see the witness "face to face" as she testified in his presence. CJLF filed a brief to argue that the state has a compelling interest in protecting crime victims of all ages and that easing a physically present victim witness's anxiety with a minor modification to the witness box has little impact on a defendant's confrontation rights. The California Supreme Court rejected the defendant’s argument that an accommodation can never be made for an emotionally traumatized sexually abused witness. The trial court can make findings on the record that a victim of sexual abuse needs an alternate procedure for testifying or needs modifications made in the courtroom to prevent him or her from having to directly face his or her abuser. Because the record was insufficient in this case to support the modification made by the trial court, the court reversed three of the defendant’s convictions pertaining to the eldest victim, and it affirmed the remainder.
