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House approves bill expanding remote testimony for survivors after floor fight over jury access
Summary
After hours of floor debate on confrontation and due‑process concerns, the House passed Senate Bill 95 with floor amendments regulating remote testimony for victim survivors and clarifying when the jury may be present in the room.
The Colorado House passed Senate Bill 95 on April 17, 2026, after a lengthy floor debate over the balance between protecting victim survivors who give remote testimony and preserving defendants’ confrontation rights.
Supporters, including Representative Froelich, said the bill expands tools to let survivors testify outside the accused’s physical presence and aligns adult survivor testimony procedures with existing child‑witness protections. Froelich described the stakes in stark terms, citing an Internet site used to facilitate assaults and saying, "62,000,000 visits to that website in 1 month," to underline the bill's advocates' plea for trauma‑informed courtroom options.
Opponents, including Representative Carter, Representative Soper and Representative Espinosa, urged caution on language they said could allow defendants to be remote from juries. "At no point should you not be allowed to face your jury," Representative Carter said in floor remarks pressing for an amendment to ensure a defendant could be present with the jury.
Members adopted an amendment during a division vote clarifying when juries may be in the room for remote testimony, a floor exchange that produced close questioning about precedent and potential appellate risk. Floor managers said the bill will help survivors give testimony without repeated trauma while preserving judicial discretion.
After the amendment votes and additional procedural motions, the House adopted the bill (as amended) by voice vote and ordered it on to subsequent steps in the legislative process.
