Section 26-8A-31 - Persons allowed to be present during closed circuit television testimony--Display ofdefendant's image in room where witness testifies.
26-8A-31. Persons allowed to be present during closed circuit television testimony--Display of defendant's image in room where witness testifies. At the taking of testimony pursuant to § 26-8A-30, the public shall be excluded from the room in which the witness is testifying. The persons permitted to be physically present shall be determined by the court. The court, in its discretion, may permit in the room a person whose presence would contribute to the well-being of the witness or the reduction of apprehension of the witness during the testimony. Attorneys for the parties may not be excluded.
If the court makes a specific finding, outside the presence of the jury, that the presence of the defendant, or in a civil case, the presence of the respondent, in the same room as the witness, will cause substantial emotional distress to the child and that such distress would impair the ability of the witness to communicate, upon such finding the court may exclude the defendant from the room in which the witness is testifying. However, if the defendant is excluded, the testimony of the witness shall be by two-way closed circuit television such that the testimony of the witness is televised in the courtroom and simultaneously thereto, a monitor in the room in which the witness is testifying displays a view of the courtroom which view shall include the defendant. The right to have the defendant's image televised in the room in which the witness is testifying is a right of the defendant which the defendant may waive. If the defendant is excluded from the room in which the witness is testifying, the court shall provide for instantaneous communication between the defendant and defense counsel.
Source: SL 1993, ch 205, § 2.