Relating to evidence, including spousal privilege and confidential communications between spouses, and the admissibility of evidence in a prosecution for physical abuse or a sexual offense upon or against a child, person with an intellectual disability, person with a cognitive impairment, or person with a developmental disability

This bill relates to evidence, including spousal privilege and confidential communications between spouses, and the admissibility of evidence in a prosecution for physical abuse or a sexual offense upon or against a child, person with an intellectual disability, person with a cognitive impairment, or person with a developmental disability. Current law relating to marital privilege allows communication that occurs between spouses to remain confidential and free from public exposure and protects spouses from being required to testify against one another in a civil or criminal case. Current law does not provide any exceptions. The bill specifies the following exceptions to the marital privilege: (1) communications of threats against the husband or wife or third party, and (2) communications that have been disclosed to a third party. The bill provides that the marital privilege does not apply in any proceeding in which either the husband or wife is charged with an offense against the other.23 (continuous sexual abuse of a child), upon or against a child, a person with an intellectual disability, a person with a cognitive impairment, or a person with a developmental disability, testimony by the victim concerning an out-of-court statement made by the victim to another person regarding the occurrence of the offense and testimony by another concerning an out-of-court statement made by the victim describing any act or detail pertaining to any act which is an element of an offense charged for physical abuse or a sexual offense against the victim shall be admitted into evidence at trial as an exception to the hearsay rule. Such out-of-court statements shall be admitted if the party intending to offer the statement notifies the adverse party of the intent to offer the statement, provides the adverse party with the name of the witness through whom the statement will be offered, and provides the adverse party with a written summary of the statement to be offered; the court finds in a hearing conducted outside of the presence of the jury that the timing of the statement, the content of the statement, and the circumstances surrounding the making of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability; and the child, person with an intellectual disability, person with a cognitive impairment, or person with a developmental disability testifies at the trial or is unavailable to testify but provides corroborative evidence of the act which is the subject of the statement. The bill provides that if a statement is admitted pursuant to the bill, the court shall instruct the jury that it is for the jury to determine the weight and credibility to be given to the statement, and in making that determination, the jury shall consider the age and maturity of the child or the disability of the person with an intellectual disability, cognitive impairment, or developmental disability; the nature of the statement; the circumstances under which the statement was made; and any other relevant factor. The bill shall not prevent the admission of any evidence in a forfeiture proceeding brought under Code chapter 809A. The bill provides definitions for “child”, “cognitive impairment”, “developmental disability”, and “intellectual disability”.