Art. 409 Sequestration of witnesses

When a witness in a juvenile court case is set to testify, the judge can keep them out of the courtroom until it's their turn to speak. This is called sequestration. The judge can order this on their own, but if either side in the case asks for it, the judge must do it.

The point of this rule is to stop witnesses from hearing other people's testimony before they give their own. This keeps their statements honest and independent, instead of being shaped by what they heard someone else say. Witnesses who are kept out of the courtroom also can't talk about the case with other people, except for the lawyers involved.

There's one exception. The judge can let a specific witness stay in the courtroom or skip this rule if it makes sense for the case. This gives the judge some flexibility when strict sequestration isn't needed or would cause problems.