Senate Bill 0794

    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 794

    By Senator Saunders





    25-360-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to witnesses; amending s.

  3         90.612, F.S.; requiring a judge to protect a

  4         witness under a specific age from undue

  5         harassment or embarrassment during

  6         interrogation and to restrict unnecessary

  7         repetition of questions; requiring that

  8         questions be stated in a form appropriate to

  9         the age and understanding of the witness;

10         authorizing a court to forbid questions that

11         are not in a form reasonably understood;

12         providing an effective date.

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14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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16         Section 1.  Section 90.612, Florida Statutes, is

17  amended to read:

18         90.612  Mode and order of interrogation and

19  presentation.--

20         (1)  The judge shall exercise reasonable control over

21  the mode and order of the interrogation of witnesses and the

22  presentation of evidence, so as to:

23         (a)  Facilitate, through effective interrogation and

24  presentation, the discovery of the truth.

25         (b)  Avoid needless consumption of time.

26         (c)  Protect witnesses from harassment or undue

27  embarrassment.

28         (d)  Take special care to protect a witness under age

29  14 from undue harassment or embarrassment and to restrict the

30  unnecessary repetition of questions. The court shall also take

31  special care to ensure that the questions are stated in a form

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 794
    25-360-00




  1  that is appropriate to the age and understanding of the

  2  witness. The court may, in the interests of justice, on

  3  objection by a party, forbid the asking of a question that is

  4  in a form that can not reasonably be understood by a person of

  5  the age and understanding of the witness.

  6         (2)  Cross-examination of a witness is limited to the

  7  subject matter of the direct examination and matters affecting

  8  the credibility of the witness. The court may, in its

  9  discretion, permit inquiry into additional matters.

10         (3)  Leading questions should not be used on the direct

11  examination of a witness except as may be necessary to develop

12  the witness's testimony.  Ordinarily, leading questions should

13  be permitted on cross-examination.  When a party calls a

14  hostile witness, an adverse party, or a witness identified

15  with an adverse party, interrogation may be by leading

16  questions.

17         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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20                          SENATE SUMMARY

21    Requires a judge to protect a witness under age 14 from
      undue harassment or embarrassment during interrogation
22    and to restrict unnecessary repetition of questions.
      Requires that questions be stated in a form appropriate
23    to the age and understanding of the witness. Authorizes a
      court to forbid questions that are not in a form
24    reasonably understood.

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