Bill clarifies when officers may question juvenile victims or witnesses without youth-access consultation

Senate Bill 5052, carried by Senator Solomon, would amend the state’s youth-access-to-counsel statute to clarify when law enforcement officers may question juvenile victims or witnesses without first providing access to counsel via the existing youth-access consultation line. The bill would permit questioning and consented searches of juvenile victims or witnesses in specified serious-offense cases without a youth consultation; any information obtained could not be used in the state’s case-in-chief against that juvenile in a later prosecution, though it could be used for impeachment.

During sponsor remarks, Senator Solomon said the intent is to enable investigators to gather information from juvenile victims and witnesses in trafficking or serious-crime situations without undermining the youth-protection purpose of the statute. “This bill is trying to walk a tightrope where we want to make sure that children that are being trafficked or becoming victims of serious…