(1) (a) When a witness at the time of a trial is a child less than twelve years of age, or is a person who has an intellectual and developmental disability as defined in section 25.5-10-202, C.R.S., the court may, upon motion of a party or upon its own motion, order that the witness's testimony be taken in a room other than the courtroom and be televised by closed-circuit television in the courtroom if:
The testimony is taken during the proceeding;
The judge determines that testimony by the witness in the courtroom and in thepresence of the defendant would result in the witness suffering serious emotional distress or trauma such that the witness would not be able to reasonably communicate; and (III) Closed-circuit television equipment is available for such use.
To obtain an order authorizing the use of closed-circuit television for testimony by achild or developmentally disabled witness, the party shall file a written motion with the court no less than fourteen days prior to the trial.
Only the prosecuting attorney, the attorney for the defendant, the guardian ad litem,if any, and the judge may question the witness when he or she testifies by closed-circuit television.
The operators of the closed-circuit television equipment shall make every effort to beunobtrusive while the witness is testifying.
(2) (a) Only the following persons may be in the room with the witness when the child or developmentally disabled person testifies by closed-circuit television:
The prosecuting attorney;
The attorney for the defendant;
The guardian ad litem, if any;
The operators of the closed-circuit television equipment;
A person whose presence, in the opinion of the court, contributes to the welfare andwell-being of the witness, including a person who has dealt with the witness in a therapeutic setting; and
The jury.
During the witness's testimony by closed-circuit television, the judge and the defendant, if present, shall remain in the courtroom.
The judge and the defendant shall be allowed to communicate with the persons in theroom where the witness is testifying by an appropriate electronic method.
The provisions of this section shall not apply if the defendant is appearing pro se.
This section shall not be interpreted to preclude, for purposes of identification of adefendant, the presence of both the witness and the defendant in the courtroom at the same time.
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to preclude the removal of the defendant,rather than the witness, from the courtroom upon the stipulation of both parties and the approval of the court.
Source: L. 2005: Entire section added, p. 424, § 4, effective April 29. L. 2012: (1)(b) amended, (SB 12-175), ch. 208, p. 853, § 83, effective July 1. L. 2013: IP(1)(a) amended, (HB 13-1314), ch. 323, p. 1804, § 28, effective March 1, 2014.