Court Finds No Right to Cross-Examine at Competency Hearings
The Washington State Court of Appeals has held that a party challenging a child’s competence to testify does not have a due process right to cross-examine the child at the competency hearing. The court thus affirmed the child molestation conviction in State v. Maule, 51 P.3d 811 (Division I, 8/5/02).
Defense counsel told the trial judge that counsel questioned the eight-year-old girl’s competence because of her pretrial interviews. In them she had displayed a weak memory and had given inconsistent accounts of her alleged molestation. The trial judge responded that the same criticisms could be made of “any adult that you’ve interviewed.” The judge denied cross-examination and found the child’s answers to the prosecutor’s questions demonstrated competence.
The appeals court said that a trial court has
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considerable latitude in choosing the procedure for determining competency, and may proceed by any means which permits the parties to be heard and allows the court to make a well-informed judgment. … Cross-examination may be the preferable means, but it is not the only means by which to accomplish those objectives.
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The court found support for its analysis in Commonwealth v. Massey, 402 Mass. 453, 523 N.E.2d 781 (1988).
Copyright © 2003 David S. Marshall
