Opinion ID: 852376
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Protected Person Statute

Text: The Protected Person Statute (PPS), Ind.Code Ann. § 35-37-4-6 (West Supp.2008), allows for the admission of otherwise inadmissible hearsay evidence relating to specified crimes whose victims are deemed protected persons. The statute provides: (d) A statement or videotape that: (1) is made by a person who at the time of trial is a protected person; (2) concerns an act that is a material element of an offense listed in subsection (a) or (b) that was allegedly committed against the person; and (3) is not otherwise admissible in evidence; is admissible in evidence in a criminal action for an offense listed in subsection (a) or (b) if the requirements of subsection (e) are met. (e) A statement or videotape described in subsection (d) is admissible in evidence in a criminal action listed in subsection (a) or (b) if, after notice to the defendant of a hearing and of the defendant's right to be present, all of the following conditions are met: (1) The court finds, in a hearing: (A) conducted outside the presence of the jury; and (B) attended by the protected person; that the time, content, and circumstances of the statement or videotape provide sufficient indications of reliability. (2) The protected person: (A) testifies at the trial; or (B) is found by the court to be unavailable as a witness for [an enumerated reason.] The PPS applies in this case because child molesting and fondling are specified crimes, id. § 35-37-4-6(a)(1), and children under fourteen years of age are deemed protected persons. Id. § 35-37-4-6(c)(1). Similar statutes have been enacted in many states. They are generally described as efforts to spare children the trauma of testifying in open court against an alleged sexual predator. See Miller v. State, 517 N.E.2d 64, 69-70 & n. 4 (Ind. 1987) (listing characteristics of, and states with, similar statutes). Balanced against these considerations are concerns for the defendant's right to a fair trial, specifically, the Sixth Amendment right to be confronted with the witness against him, and the right under article I, section 13 of the Indiana Constitution to meet witnesses face to face. And, of course, the policies underlying the hearsay rule come into play. Aside from these issues, some have expressed specific concerns regarding children's suggestibility and have also questioned their capacity for accurate perception and memory. See, e.g., Jean Montoya, Something Not So Funny Happened on the Way to Conviction: The Pretrial Interrogation of Child Witnesses, 35 Ariz. L.Rev. 927, 933-34 (1993) (noting that persistent pretrial interrogations can impair the search for truth because children are highly vulnerable to suggestion). The PPS addresses these concerns in two ways. First, the trial court must find any video taped statements to be reliable before they may be admitted. I.C. § 35-37-4-6(e)(1). Second, the protected person must be made available for cross-examination. Id. § 35-37-4-6(f). Because the PPS represents a departure from ordinary trial procedure, it should be used only when necessary to further its basic purpose of avoiding further injury to the protected person. We have never addressed a case under the current Rules of Evidence where, as here, the protected person testified at trial as well as by videotape or other statement. [1] There are, of course, some circumstances under which a prior statement of a live witness is admissible under the Rules of Evidence, for example under Evidence Rule 801(d)(1)(A) or (B) because it contains inconsistent statements or rebuts a claim of fabrication. But neither party claims that the testimony in this case is admissible under these provisions. We believe that admitting consistent statements through both prerecorded media and also by live testimony presents two problems aside from confrontation clause or hearsay issues. First, admitting both a child's live testimony and consistent videotaped statements is cumulative evidence, and can be unfairly prejudicial. See, e.g., Modesitt v. State, 578 N.E.2d 649, 650-52 (Ind.1991) (finding that testimony by several witnesses repeating victim's prior statements was reversible error due to drumbeat repetition). Second, if a child or other protected person is sufficiently mature and reliable to testify in open court without serious emotional distress, [2] resort to the PPS is unnecessary. And if the person testifies live, admitting the additional earlier statement does not serve the statutory purpose of protecting the child from the burden of testifying. In light of these considerations, we conclude that this Court should exercise its supervisory powers to elaborate on the permissible use of statements under the PPS. [3] We hold that if the statements are consistent and both are otherwise admissible, testimony of a protected person may be presented in open court or by prerecorded statement through the PPS, but not both except as authorized under the Rules of Evidence. If the person is able to testify live without serious emotional distress such that the protected person cannot reasonably communicate, that is clearly preferable. Rules implemented by use of supervisory powers are not applicable to proceedings conducted prior to publication. Pierce v. State, 677 N.E.2d 39, 46 (Ind. 1997). We recognize that the statute on its face provides that prior videotaped testimony may be admitted even if the protected person testifies at the trial. Specifically, the statute provides that a protected person's statement or videotape is admissible if that person testifies at trial as long as the court finds that the statement provides sufficient indications of reliability and the defendant is given notice. I.C. § 35-37-4-6(e). At the time of this trial, the opinions of this Court predating the Rules of Evidence had permitted admission of videotaped testimony under the PPS even if the witness also testified at trial. E.g., Wyrick v. State, 533 N.E.2d 118, 119-20 (Ind.1989); cf. Traver v. State, 568 N.E.2d 1009, 1011-12 (Ind.1991). After the Rules were promulgated, we explained in Pierce that Ind. Evidence Rule 802 prohibits admission of hearsay `except as provided by law or by these rules.' The [PPS] is a provision `by law,' and does not conflict with Rule 802. 677 N.E.2d at 43 n. 6. This Court thus explicitly accepted the PPS as a part of Indiana evidence law, though not in the Rules. Tyler contends that the admission of evidence under the statute must still be subject to the overall balancing of prejudice and probative value required by Evidence Rule 403. We agree that evidence admissible under this statute, like any other generally admissible evidence, is subject to that test. But we do not agree that the court committed reversible error by admitting the taped statements. Although cumulative and therefore of minimal probative value, the prejudicial effect of admission of videotaped statements by three of the children was not significant in the face of the consistent live testimony of all five children. [4]