Committee Weighs Expanding hearsay exception to include 13–15‑year‑olds in H 5
The House Judiciary Committee heard divided testimony on H 5, a bill to expand Rule 804(a) to include alleged victims aged 13–15. Judges and prosecutors said the change would aid prosecutions without overburdening courts; civil‑rights advocates warned the law stigmatizes people with mental illness and raises presumption‑of‑guilt concerns. Committee members requested more testimony, including from the defender general and mental‑health advocates.
The full story
The House Judiciary Committee continued testimony on H 5 on Thursday, a bill that would expand the scope of Rule 804(a), a hearsay exception prosecutors use to admit certain out‑of‑court statements by young or otherwise vulnerable declarants. Supporters told the committee the change would provide corroborating evidence in cases involving young alleged victims; opponents said it risks unfairly tilting trials against defendants and stigmatizing people with mental illness.
Sign up to keep reading.
Your free newsletter brings you what your city council, county, and school board discussed and decided.
Keep reading for free
Create a free account to finish this story and see the video, transcript and key details.
Continue with GoogleContinue with emailAlready have an account? Log in