gitana1
Verified Attorney
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Yeah, it's not like people who work for state government have their own agenda or are trying to defraud the system. Nah, that never happens, right? one or more adults are also required to provide proof of child abuse beyond hearsay. A minor detail, but incredibly necessary to some of us...and to the Supreme Court. Parents do have the right to confront their accusers.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...eachers-can-act-as-law-enforcement-offficials
JMO
BBM. ??? In America, we do not need the testimony of one or two adults to substantiate abuse. There is zero legal basis for your claim and it simply is not a legal requirement in any court of law in our nation.
The direct testimony of children or witnesses of any age to abuse is valid as long as the person is of sound mind, knows right from wrong and fact from fiction, i.e., "competent."
In fact the case you linked to is a case currently before the Supreme Court and it is about whether, if a child is not "competent" to testify, his statements given to a third party who testifies, can be considered at a child abuse trial. Which is what happened to the defendant in the case being considered.
In the case, the Supreme Court is deciding whether a conviction obtained after a trial during which statements of a child made to a teacher were testified to in court by the teacher, is a violation of the defendant's 6th amendment right to confront his accusers.
It is complex and the answer depends on whether or not the child was competent to testify and whether or not his statements were thus considered hearsay or were testimonial in nature. The Court is currently examining the case and has not yet decided.
If his statements were considered hearsay, then the 6th amendment confrontation clause would likely not come in and the statements could be considered as an exception to the hearsay rule as due to the child's age he would be deemed "incompetent" to testify, (however then, one justice stated, the reliability of his statements would likely then come into question).
But in the Stanley case, reports seem to make clear that at the probable cause hearing, direct testimony was given - from witnesses or subjects of the alleges abuse - not testimony from people reporting hearsay statements. So the case currently being decided by the Supreme Court would not apply one way or another, to this one.
There is nothing to suggest that at the least, the teens have not testified in this case nor to suggest that due to their age they are incompetent to testify directly regarding what has happened to them.