Opinion ID: 1356329
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Child Dependency Exception

Text: Because this case concerns questions left unanswered in Cindy L., we begin by reviewing the reasons for the recognition of the child dependency exception in that case. Cindy L. was decided against the background of the special evidentiary rules for dependency hearings framed by this court in In re Malinda S. (1990) 51 Cal.3d 368, 272 Cal.Rptr. 787, 795 P.2d 1244 ( Malinda S.). We concluded in Malinda S. that a `social study' prepared by a social worker pursuant to sections 281 and 358 fits within the class of `legally admissible' evidence on which a court can rely in a jurisdictional hearing, despite the fact that a social study is itself hearsay and may contain multiple levels of hearsay. Our conclusion was based in part on section 281, which provides that `[t]he court is authorized to receive and consider the [social study] reports and recommendations of the probation officer in determining any ... matter' regarding the custody, status, or welfare of the minor. We found that the statute, together with California Rules of Court, rule 1450(c), authorizes a court to consider social studies in making its jurisdictional finding. ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at pp. 21-22, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) In Cindy L., we considered two questions. The first was whether, apart from the social study exception to the hearsay rule recognized in Malinda S., there was a child dependency exception. As we explained: In Malinda S. we assumed that those whose hearsay statements appear in a social study would be available for cross-examination. ( Malinda S., supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 384, 272 Cal.Rptr. 787, 795 P.2d 1244.) We did not consider whether such statements would be admissible and competent evidence if the testimony of the child making those statements was not available during the hearing. ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 22, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) In confirming the child dependency exception to the hearsay rule that had been created by the Court of Appeal in In re Carmen O. (1994) 28 Cal. App.4th 908, 33 Cal.Rptr.2d 848 ( Carmen O.), we permitted, under certain conditions, hearsay statements regarding abuse by young children who are the subject of a jurisdictional hearing, but are unavailable because they are intimidated by the courtroom setting. [T]here is a substantial need for the class of hearsay evidence contained in the child dependency exception. As the Carmen O. court and the sources on which it relied recognize, there are particular difficulties with proving child sexual abuse: the frequent lack of physical evidence, the limited verbal and cognitive abilities of child victims, the fact that children are often unable or unwilling to act as witnesses because of the intimidation of the courtroom setting and the reluctance to testify against their parents. [Citation.] Given these realities, the categorical exclusion of child hearsay, or admission only if the hearsay fits within traditional yet narrow categories such as the `spontaneous utterance' exception, will often mean the exclusion of significant, reliable evidence required for the juvenile court to assert its jurisdiction over the child and to ultimately protect him or her from an abusive family relationship. ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 28, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340, fn. omitted.) We recognized, nonetheless, that [e]ven if hearsay evidence is necessary ..., an exception to the hearsay rule is not valid unless the class of hearsay evidence proposed for admission is inherently reliable. ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 28, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) After reviewing various statutory and American Bar Association sources we arrived at three conditions for admitting out-of-court statements of abuse of children subject to jurisdictional hearings pursuant to section 300: (1) the court must find that the time, content and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient indicia of reliability; (2) a child must either be available for cross-examination or there must be evidence of child sexual abuse that corroborates the statement made by the child; and (3) other interested parties must have adequate notice of the public agency's intention to introduce the hearsay statement so as to contest it. ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 29, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) As to the first requirement, regarding the statement's inherent reliability, we explained: The nonexhaustive list of factors that the United States Supreme Court has cited as relevant to the reliability of hearsay statements made by child witnesses in sexual abuse cases are (1) spontaneity and consistent repetition; (2) the mental state of the declarant; (3) use of terminology unexpected of a child of a similar age; and (4) lack of motive to fabricate. ( Idaho v. Wright [(1990) ] 497 U.S. [805,] 821-822 [110 S.Ct. 3139, 111 L.Ed.2d 638].) ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at pp. 29-30, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) The second question we considered in Cindy L. was whether the child dependency exception should apply if the child is unavailable for cross-examination, not because she is intimidated by the courtroom setting, as in Carmen O., but because she has been judged to be incompetent as a witness. Specifically, we considered the argument made in that case that if a child is found to be incompetent because of the failure to understand the duty to tell the truth or to distinguish between truth and falsity  which [may be] term[ed] `truth incompetent' then it must be presumed that [the child] was incompetent at the time the hearsay statement was made; accordingly, her statement should not be admitted absent proof rebutting this presumption of incompetence. ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 31, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) This argument found support in the holding of the Court of Appeal in In re Basilio T. (1992) 4 Cal.App.4th 155, 5 Cal. Rptr.2d 450. As we explained, [E]very person regardless of age is competent to testify (Evid.Code, § 700) except if he or she is `[i]ncapable of expressing himself or herself concerning the matter so as to be understood ...; or [¶] [i]ncapable of understanding the duty of a witness to tell the truth.' ( Id, § 701.) Admitting that authority on the matter was scarce, the Basilio T. court found that, as a general rule, `a hearsay declarant must be competent when an out-of-court statement is made' (4 Cal.App.4th at p. 167 [5 Cal. Rptr.2d 450]).... The [ Basilio T. ] court declared, quoting 5 Wigmore, Evidence (Chadbourne rev.1974) section 1424, at page 255: `The hearsay rule is merely an additional test or safeguard to be applied to testimonial evidence otherwise admissible. The admission of hearsay statements, by way of exception to the rule, therefore presupposes that the assertor possessed the qualifications of a witness ... in regard to knowledge and the like. These qualifications are fundamental as rules of relevancy. Thus these extrajudicial statements may be inadmissible because of their failure to fulfill the ordinary rules about qualifications, even though they meet the requirements of a hearsay exception. ' [Citation.] ... `Absent a showing otherwise, the young child who is unable to differentiate between truth and falsehood at trial would not have possessed that qualification at an earlier point in time.' ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at p. 32, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340, italics omitted.) We recognized in Cindy L., however, that Basilio T. ... is not dispositive of the case before us. At issue there was the admission of a child hearsay statement under the broad `social study' exception recognized in Malinda S. Although we concluded in Malinda S. that the `elements of objectivity and expertise lend [social studies] a degree of reliability and trustworthiness' ( Malinda S., supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 377, 272 Cal.Rptr. 787, 795 P.2d 1244), such that the social studies will generally contain accurate reports of interviews with children, the statements of the children themselves found therein do not necessarily possess any particular guaranties of reliability. Basilio T. thus would not permit judicial reliance on such statements when they come from children unavailable for cross-examination and seemingly incompetent to tell the truth. ( Cindy L., supra, 17 Cal.4th at pp. 32-33, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) But we concluded that a finding of incompetence to testify should not be a categorical bar to the admission of a child's out-of-court statements. ( Id at p. 34, 69 Cal. Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) Rather, we held that an out-of-court statement by a child determined to be legally incompetent who is the subject of a dependency hearing was admissible as long as it met the criteria of reliability that we articulated in the child dependency exception. ( Id at p. 33, 69 Cal.Rptr.2d 803, 947 P.2d 1340.) We quoted with approval the statement of the Washington Supreme Court in State v. Doe (1986) 105 Wash.2d 889, 719 P.2d 554, 557-558 that [reliability does not depend on whether the child is competent to take the witness stand, but whether the comments and circumstances surrounding the statement indicate it is reliable.... [¶] ... The child's lack of competency may be a factor, but it is not controlling.