West Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — In a split ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court is granting a West Des Moines doctor found guilty of sexually abusing a child a new trial because the seven-year-old testified via a live video feed shown in the courtroom.
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled last year that defendants have a constitutional right to confront their accusers in the courtroom.
The justice who wrote Tuesday’s majority opinion says the 1857 Iowa constitution was written because Iowa’s founding fathers were concerned there might be false testimony if defendants didn’t get to confront their accuser face-to-face during a trial.
Iowa’s attorney general and state legislators have proposed a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Iowa Supreme Court’s opinions on face-to-face testimony, but it will be several years before it would be on the ballot for Iowa voters to decide the issue.
Iowa is currently the only state that does not allow children or witnesses with disabilities to testify remotely.
KIWA Staff Photo
