H.F. 709 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 915.36A Minor prosecuting witness 1 —— pretrial contact. 2 A prosecuting witness who is a minor shall have the right to 3 have the interview or deposition taken outside of the presence 4 of the defendant. The interview or deposition may be televised 5 by closed-circuit equipment to a room where the defendant can 6 view the interview or deposition or in a manner that ensures 7 that the defendant shall not have contact with the minor. The 8 defendant shall be allowed to communicate with the defendant’s 9 counsel in the room where the minor is being interviewed or 10 deposed by an appropriate electronic method. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill relates to pretrial contact between a prosecuting 15 witness who is a minor and the defendant. 16 The bill provides that a prosecuting witness who is a minor 17 shall have the right to have the interview or deposition taken 18 outside of the presence of the defendant and the interview 19 or deposition may be televised by closed-circuit equipment 20 for the defendant to view in another room or in a manner 21 that ensures the defendant will not have contact with the 22 minor. The defendant shall be allowed to communicate with the 23 defendant’s attorney during the interview or deposition through 24 an appropriate electronic method. 25 -1- LSB 1935HV (2) 89 as/rh 1/ 1