Court Opinion

ID: 9509149
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 21:43:37.678341+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:07:45.262704
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE TRIEWEILER
specially concurring.
I concur in the above opinion because the procedures taken by the District Court were only objected to on the basis of the United States Constitution. In applying the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, I defer to those decisions of the United States Supreme Court, and specifically Maryland v. Craig.
However, if the procedure taken to screen the defendant from the child victim had been challenged on the basis of Article II, Section 24, of the Montana Constitution, it is clear to me that the same result could not occur. I would, therefore, encourage prosecutors who en*62counter a similar problem in the future to try to find some way to protect child victims which does not preclude the defendant from observing their demeanor and testimony while it is being given.