Videotaped out-of-court testimony of a 4-year-old that was introduced under the Tender Years Hearsay Act after the child was unresponsive on the witness stand violated the defendant’s rights under the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment, the state Supreme Court has ruled.
The court’s unanimous decision in In the Interest of N.C., issued Dec. 15, upheld a ruling from the state Superior Court, which determined that statements from the child were testimonial, and that she had not been made available for cross-examination before her videotaped forensic testimony was introduced into evidence.
