Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center - External Data Sharing With Third-Party Data Centers for Multistate Reporting - Authorization
HB0293 amends Maryland’s child-victim testimony statute in criminal procedure law to change when a court may allow a child victim in a child abuse case to testify outside the courtroom by closed-circuit television. The bill keeps the basic framework that allows this procedure when in-court testimony in the presence of the defendant or child respondent would cause the child serious emotional distress, but it revises several procedural details governing how the testimony is taken and who may be present.
The bill adds an explicit rule that the child victim’s testimony must be given within the courthouse in a setting the court finds will reasonably reduce the likelihood of emotional distress. It also clarifies that the defendant or child respondent must have a private, real-time oral means of communicating with their attorney who is in the room with the child victim, and it preserves the court’s ability to communicate electronically with that room. The bill also states that the section does not apply if the defendant or child respondent is without counsel, and it maintains the prohibition on two-way closed-circuit television or any procedure that would allow the child victim to see or hear the defendant or child respondent.
HB0293 amends Section 11-303 of the Criminal Procedure Article, affecting child abuse cases under the Family Law and Criminal Law Articles. It changes courtroom procedure for child-victim testimony by closed circuit television, adds protections and communication requirements for the defense, and narrows how the testimony setting must be arranged. The bill primarily affects courts, prosecutors, defense counsel, child victims, and child respondents in abuse-related proceedings, including juvenile delinquency, criminal cases, and child in need of assistance matters.
The available record suggests the bill was noncontroversial or at least not heavily contested in the recorded materials, as there are no committee transcript excerpts or recorded vote details showing debate or opposition. The bill was enacted and approved by the Governor, indicating it had sufficient support to pass both chambers. Overall, the measure appears to have been treated as a procedural refinement to protect child witnesses while preserving defense rights.
The main policy balance in the bill is between protecting child victims from emotional distress and preserving the defendant’s or child respondent’s confrontation and counsel rights. The added requirement for a private, real-time communication channel between the defendant/respondent and their attorney reflects concern that remote testimony should not impair defense participation. Another point of legal sensitivity is the continued prohibition on two-way closed-circuit testimony, which keeps the child from seeing or hearing the defendant/respondent while still allowing the testimony accommodation.