How children can testify about abuse without going to Court

Sometimes the testimony of a child is necessary in Court, but you don't want to have to put the child on the witness stand. Do you know how to properly create a prerecorded statement of a child so you can use it in Court?

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
00:30 – What is a Prerecorded Statement?
01:09 – What are the Requirements?
02:19 – How can I Prepare to make a Prerecorded Statement?
04:33 – How to Record the Child’s Statement
05:59 – What to do after Recording the Statement

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Original Blog:
If you want to avoid having to put your child on the witness stand, you might consider taking a prerecorded statement.

You are in the middle of a divorce, or custody case, and you want to avoid getting the kids involved in it as much as possible. Obviously, you don’t want your child to be put on the witness stand to be put in the spotlight while being asked questions about mom or dad.

Unfortunately, there are times where they are the only ones that have the information that is needed for the case, especially when it comes to child abuse. Fortunately, there is an alternative to putting a child on the witness stand to testify through the use of a prerecorded statement.

What is a Prerecorded Statement?
There are ways to protect kids from this harsh experience. One way to get the child’s statement without having them testify in open court is by admitting a prerecorded statement into evidence. A prerecorded statement is an audio and video recording that can be done in advance to then show to the court.

A prerecorded statement of the child can be recorded from home and then admitted into evidence without having the child go to court. This can be beneficial because it takes pressure from the child and protects their mental health from what will very likely be a traumatic experience. However, there are some specific requirements that must be met.

What are the Requirements?
Not every child has the ability to provide a prerecorded statement to use in court and avoid testifying. There are several requirements that must be met for the recording to admitted into evidence:

The child must be 12 years of age or younger;

The child in the case is alleged to have been abused;

The child’s statement was recorded before the proceeding;

The child’s statement is recorded with both video and audio;

No attorney for a party was present when the statement was made;

The recording equipment was capable of making an accurate recording, the operator was competent, and the recording is accurate and has not been altered; and

The child’s statement wasn’t made in response to questions that were calculated to lead the child to make a particular statement. Only open-ended questions, no leading questions.
—See Prerecorded Statement of Child – Tex. Fam. Code § 104.002(1)-(5)

If all of these requirements are not met, then the prerecorded statement cannot be admitted into evidence.

Another important step is to make sure that the person who interviewed the child in the recording is present at the court proceedings and available to testify or be cross-examined by either party.

—See Prerecorded Statement of Child – Tex. Fam. Code § 104.002(6)

How can I prepare to make a Prerecorded Statement?
If you have determined that a prerecorded statement of a child is necessary for your case, here are some steps you can take before you start recording. Just a little bit of prep-work in advance could make the difference between your child’s voice being heard, and an abuser getting away scot-free.

First, it is important to talk to the child and make sure that they are ok with giving a recorded statement about the alleged abuse. They should understand that you’re going to ask them some questions about the alleged abuse so they aren’t blindsided by the topic. You shouldn’t pressure the child to make a statement if they aren’t comfortable talking about it yet.

Second, write down a list of questions that you want to ask the child. These questions should be open-ended and related to the abuse. Do not ask questions that try to lead the child to give you a specific answer. Remember, you want your child to tell their story. You don’t want to tell their story for them.

A good tip for asking open-ended questions is to start your questions with the following words: who, what, when, where, why, and how. You should ask open-ended questions because otherwise, your prerecorded statement... (Keep reading - https://matthewharrislaw.com/prerecor...)

Music:
Renunciation – Asher Fulero
Music provided via YouTube Studio Audio Library

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