Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. letter to the editor, April 6, 1994

Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. legislative Address: home address: House of delegates Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1991 April 6, 1994 Dear Editor: Under Maryland's current child abuse hearsay statute, very young child abuse victims are banned from giving testimony concerning their abuse, even where the prosecuter is firmly convinced the child is telling the truth. I have been working with the Governor's Council on Child Abuse and Neglect to correct this problem for the past three years. On March 28th, the House of Delegates voted to provide the solution for Maryland's abused children. H.B. 1442 will remove the ban that prohibits judges from evaluating the trustworthiness and reliability of hearsay evidence in hundreds of child abuse cases. H.B. 1442 does not allow a child victim's statement to be heard automatically. First, the judge must make an independent determination that the child's statements are reliable. Secondly, even where the statement passes the judge's scrutiny, it is up to the jury to make its determination as to whether the child is worthy of belief. In addition, H.B. 1442 limits the people who can offer reliable hearsay testimony to four groups: licensed physicians, licensed psychologists, licensed social workers and teachers . In 1992 alone, Maryland's Department of Human Resources received 28,868 reports of child abuse and neglect. With the passage of H.B. 1442, child abusers stand a better chance of being prosecuted in Maryland's Circuit Courts. Rc Si Ehrlich, Jr. C