Posted: December 7, 2017
Rules of Evidence – Effective May 1, 2018
URE1102 Amend. Amends the definition of reliable hearsay. Removes the requirement that a statement made by a child victim must be “promptly reported.”
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Posted: December 7, 2017
URE1102 Amend. Amends the definition of reliable hearsay. Removes the requirement that a statement made by a child victim must be “promptly reported.”
That’s a bunch of crap. If it isn’t promptly reported then the person is now older, had more time to think about what to say and how to say it. You don’t need a hearsay rule for a situation like this. This is when you really do need the person to come into court and say what happened. Why did it take so long to report? How accurate is their memory after time has passed and so on.
I assume “child victim” is defined elsewhere in the Rules. I think this is a mistake given the lessons learned from the California McMaster case. “Promptly” must be defined. At the least, there must be a statutory limit of repose in these cases.