§ 1360 [Child Victim Hearsay Exception]
Division 10: Hearsay Evidence | Chapter 2: Exceptions to the Hearsay Rule | Article 16: Statements by Children Under the Age of 12 in Child Neglect and Abuse Proceedings
Section titles shown in [brackets] are editorial additions for navigation purposes and are not part of the official statute.
Rule Text
(a) In a criminal prosecution where the victim is a minor, a statement made by the victim when under the age of 12 describing any act of child abuse or neglect performed with or on the child by another, or describing any attempted act of child abuse or neglect with or on the child by another, is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if all of the following apply:
(1) The statement is not otherwise admissible by statute or court rule.
(2) The court finds, in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury, that the time, content, and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient indicia of reliability.
(3) The child either:
(b) A statement may not be admitted under this section unless the proponent of the statement makes known to the adverse party the intention to offer the statement and the particulars of the statement sufficiently in advance of the proceedings in order to provide the adverse party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet the statement.
(c) For purposes of this section, “child abuse” means an act proscribed by Section 273a, 273d, or 288.5 of the Penal Code, or any of the acts described in Section 11165.1 of the Penal Code, and “child neglect” means any of the acts described in Section 11165.2 of the Penal Code.
Amendment history: Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 87, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 1996.