Court Opinion

ID: 9575207
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:12:24.592229+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:45:03.156826
License: Public Domain

SUNDRY, J.
(concurring). I agree with the majority that S., one of the child-victims in this case, was "unavailable” to testify at Drusch’s trial. I am persuaded to this conclusion, however, reluctantly, and only because S.’s inability to testify could not reasonably have been anticipated by the court or the prosecutor. S. had testified at Drusch’s preliminary hearing. Not until trial did the victim-witness coordinator become aware that S. would not be able to *331testify. The court made several attempts to take S.’s testimony, both in the presence of and the absence of the jury. S.’s inability was a surprise to all parties. In the circumstances, the court did not abuse its discretion by declaring S. unavailable and admitting her preliminary hearing testimony.
I write separately because I believe the need to weigh the physical and emotional well-being of the child-witness against a defendant’s right to confront the witnesses must be emphasized and the options available to the prosecutor and the trial court when faced with that need should be explored.
Here, the trial court admitted S.’s preliminary hearing testimony because her emotional state did not allow her to testify at Drusch’s trial. However, the Confrontation Clause reflects a preference for face-to-face confrontation at trial, or, in the alternative, an opportunity to test the out-of-court statement by "contemporaneous” cross-examination, or its equivalent. State v. Myren, 133 Wis. 2d 430, 437, 395 N.W.2d 818, 822 (Ct. App. 1986). The right of confrontation is a trial right, Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. —, —, 94 L. Ed. 2d 40, 54 (1987), that must be jealously protected.
While the right of confrontation is the defendant’s greatest protection, it also presents the most difficulty in cases involving child witnesses. "It is ... the sixth amendment right of confrontation that creates the most harm to child witnesses since the repetition of the details of a sordid event (especially to strangers in public), the necessity of being face-to-face with the attacker at the preliminary hearing and again at trial, and the length of the court process prevent child witnesses from being able to forget about the incident and cause psychological harm.” *332Parker, The Rights of Child Witnesses: Is the Court A Protector Or Perpetrator?, 17 New Eng. L. Rev. 643, 646 (1982). The trauma of testifying may render some children psychologically unavailable thereby creating a potential infringement of the defendant’s right to confrontation. See Myers, The Legal Response to Child Abuse: In the Best Interest of Children?, 24 J. Fam. L. 149, 224-25 (1985-86). Our supreme court has recognized the traumatic effect on a child of testifying in child abuse cases and the need "to accommodate the needs of the child victim-witness within the context of the public policy of achieving justice through the adversary system.” State v. Gilbert, 109 Wis. 2d 501, 516, 326 N.W.2d 744, 751 (1982).
Because of the importance to the defendant of the right of confrontation, we must be cautious when declaring a child unavailable to testify.
In the context of child abuse litigation, the danger lies in the allure of protecting children from the trauma of the courtroom. The temptation to declare a child unavailable is very real, and a finding of psychological unavailability is a relatively simple way to reach the desired goal. In rendering a decision on availability, the court may fail to accord proper weight to the defendant’s right to cross-examination. This failing is of particularly troubling dimensions in abuse litigation where the child’s hearsay may be the most damaging evidence against the accused.
Myers, supra, 24 J. Fam. L. at 225.
Many solutions have been proposed and utilized to address the problem of taking the testimony of the child victim-witness including conducting proceedings in surroundings more comfortable than the court*333room, blocking the witness’s view of the defendant, allowing the child to testify behind a one-way mirror, videotaped depositions and simultaneous video transmission of testimony being given in another room. Gilbert, 109 Wis. 2d at 518 n. 24, 326 N.W.2d at 752; State v. Sheppard, 484 A.2d 1330 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. 1984). Section 967.04(7), Stats., permits the trial court to order a videotaped deposition of a child. The court may admit the deposition into evidence without an additional hearing under sec. 908.08, Stats. Sec. 967.04(9). If admitted, the child may not be called as a witness unless the court so orders upon a showing that fairness requires the child’s additional testimony. Sec. 967.04(10) The court controls the deposition and has broad latitude to determine the surroundings in which and the conditions under which the deposition will be taken. Sec. 967.04(8)(b).
The victim-witness program provides services to judges in determinations concerning the taking of videotaped depositions and advising the district attorney concerning the ability of a child witness to cooperate with the prosecution and the potential effect of the proceedings on the child. Sec. 950.055(2)(b) and (c), Stats.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has admonished trial courts to make use of such procedures in criminal trials where the testimony of a child-witness is necessary or important to the proceedings. State v. Nelson, 138 Wis. 2d 418, 406 N.W.2d 385 (1987)(Hefferman, C.J., dissenting). In Gilbert, 109 Wis. 2d at 516-17, 326 N.W.2d at 751-52, the court stated:
The circuit court should ... use the tools available to the criminal justice system to eliminate or lessen the burden on [the child] while making her *334testimony available in the criminal proceeding. The court should afford the child witness, in a criminal proceeding as much protection as is consistent with the public interest in convicting the guilty and with the constitutional rights of the accused. ...
The circuit court has power, within constitutional limits, to alter courtroom procedures to protect the emotional well-being of the child witness.