Brief filed: 01/14/2015
Documents
Ohio v. Clark
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 13-1352
Prior Decision
Decision below 137 Ohio St.3d 346, 2013-Ohio-4731.
Argument(s)
Teachers play a critical role in the prosecution of child abuse cases. Teachers question abused children for the primary purpose of gathering evidence for future prosecution. States assign other non-law enforcement officials to investigate child abuse cases. Reversing the Ohio Supreme Court would give law enforcement a roadmap to exempt child abuse testimony from confrontation. The right to confrontation through cross-examination is especially critical in child abuse cases because, as this Court has acknowledged, children are particularly susceptible to suggestion and often produce unreliable and imagined testimony.
Author(s)
Stephen A. Miller, Cozen O’Connor, Philadelphia, PA; David Porter, Sacramento, CA.