                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

TESTIMONY BY CHILD USING TWO-WAY CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION (§ 63.2-1521)

A. In any civil proceeding involving alleged abuse or neglect of a child
pursuant to this chapter or pursuant to &#xA7; 16.1-241, 16.1-251, 16.1-252,
16.1-253, 16.1-253.1, 16.1-253.4, 16.1-278.14, 16.1-279.1, 16.1-283, or
20-107.2, the child&#8217;s attorney or guardian ad litem or, if the child has
been committed to the custody of a local department, the attorney for the local
department may apply for an order from the court that the testimony of the
alleged victim or of a child witness be taken in a room outside the courtroom
and be televised by two-way closed-circuit television. The person seeking such
order shall apply for the order at least seven days before the trial date.

B. The provisions of this section shall apply to the following:

   1. An alleged victim who was 14 years of age or under on the date of the
   alleged offense and is 16 or under at the time of the trial; and

   2. Any child witness who is 14 years of age or under at the time of the trial.

C. The court may order that the testimony of the child be taken by
closed-circuit television as provided in subsections A and B if it finds that
the child is unavailable to testify in open court in the presence of the
defendant, the jury, the judge, and the public, for any of the following
reasons:

   1. The child&#8217;s persistent refusal to testify despite judicial requests
   to do so;

   2. The child&#8217;s substantial inability to communicate about the offense;
   or

   3. The substantial likelihood, based upon expert opinion testimony, that the
   child will suffer severe emotional trauma from so testifying.
   				Any ruling on the child&#8217;s unavailability under this subsection shall
   be supported by the court with findings on the record or with written findings
   in a court not of record.

D. In any proceeding in which closed-circuit television is used to receive
testimony, the attorney for the child and the defendant&#8217;s attorney and, if
the child has been committed to the custody of a local board, the attorney for
the local board shall be present in the room with the child, and the child shall
be subject to direct and cross examination. The only other persons allowed to be
present in the room with the child during his testimony shall be the guardian ad
litem, those persons necessary to operate the closed-circuit equipment, and any
other person whose presence is determined by the court to be necessary to the
welfare and well-being of the child.

E. The child&#8217;s testimony shall be transmitted by closed-circuit television
into the courtroom for the defendant, jury, judge and public to view. The
defendant shall be provided with a means of private, contemporaneous
communication with his attorney during the testimony.

HISTORY: 1988, c. 845, § 63.1-248.13:1; 1999, c. 668; 2002, c. 747; 2018, c.
564.