A bill to amend Rule 611 of the Federal Rules of Evidence to prohibit cross-examination by the accused of minor victims of sexual assault.

Bill: 115-s-3736
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2018-12-10
Policy area: Law
Latest action: action_date: 2018-12-10
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2018-12-10
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>This bill generally prohibits the cross-examination of a minor (i.e., an individual under the age of 18) by a pro se criminal defendant accused of sexual assault of the minor. A pro se criminal defendant is a defendant in a criminal case who represents himself or herself without a lawyer.

tv_txt: II 115th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3736 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 10, 2018 Mr. Flake introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend Rule 611 of the Federal Rules of Evidence to prohibit cross-examination by the accused of minor victims of sexual assault.

1. Cross-Examination of victims by the accused (a) In general Rule 611 of the Federal Rules of Evidence is amended by adding at the end the following: (d) Cross-Examination by pro se defendants of minor victims of sexual assault In a criminal case in which a defendant accused of sexual assault of a minor represents himself or herself pro se, upon application by the prosecutor, the minor, or the minor’s representative, cross-examination of the minor— (1) shall not be conducted by the defendant unless the court finds that it is necessitated by exceptional circumstances to protect the constitutional rights of the defendant; and (2) shall instead be conducted by an attorney for the defendant under the supervision of the court. (e) Definitions In this rule— (1) the term minor means an individual under the age of 18; (2) the term sexual assault of a minor means a crime under Federal law involving— (A) any conduct— (i) prohibited under section 1591 or chapter 109A, 110, or 117 of title 18, United States Code; or (ii) described in paragraphs (2) through (5) of Rule 413(d); and (B) a victim who is a minor; and (3) the term victim means a person directly and proximately harmed as a result of the commission of an offense. . (b) Effective date The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply— (1) to any proceeding commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) insofar as is just and practicable, to any proceeding pending on such date of enactment.