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Vermont Judiciary Committee Hears Support for H.5 to Extend Hearsay Exception to 13–15-Year-Olds
Summary
On Jan. 7 the Judiciary Committee took testimony on H.5, which would amend Rule 804(a) of the Vermont Rules of Evidence to expand a hearsay exception currently limited to children 12 and under so it also covers victims aged 13–15 under specified reliability safeguards; prosecutors and victim advocates urged passage while members questioned process and resource impacts.
The Judiciary Committee heard testimony Jan. 7 on H.5, a bill to amend Rule 804(a) of the Vermont Rules of Evidence to expand an existing hearsay exception now limited to children 12 and under so it would also cover victims aged 13–15.
Jennifer Pullman, director of the Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, told the committee she has been involved in this issue since the mid-2000s and framed H.5 as a measure to align protections with developmental research and practice. "Forty other states have the same, exact exception," she said, and argued the bill would help ensure disclosures to trusted adults by adolescents are not excluded solely because of an arbitrary age cutoff.
Domenica Padula, chief of…
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