(a) When a defendant has been charged with a violation of Section 220, 243.4, 261, 261.5, 264.1, 269, 273a, 273d, 285, 286, 287, 288, 288.5, 288.7, 289, or 647.6, or former Section 288a, and the victim either is a person 15 years of age or younger or is developmentally disabled as a result of an intellectual disability, as specified in subdivision (a) of § 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the people may apply for an order that the victim’s testimony at the preliminary hearing, in addition to being stenographically recorded, be video recorded and the video recording preserved.

(b) The application for the order shall be in writing and made three days prior to the preliminary hearing.

Terms Used In California Penal Code 1346

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • magistrate: signifies any one of the officers mentioned in Section 808. See California Penal Code 7
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See California Penal Code 7
  • Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

(c) Upon timely receipt of the application, the magistrate shall order that the testimony of the victim given at the preliminary hearing be taken and preserved as a video recording, in addition to being stenographically recorded. The video recording shall be transmitted to the clerk of the court in which the action is pending.

(d) If at the time of trial the court finds that further testimony would cause the victim emotional trauma so that the victim is medically unavailable or unavailable within the meaning of § 240 of the Evidence Code, the court may admit the video recording of the victim’s testimony at the preliminary hearing as former testimony under § 1291 of the Evidence Code.

(e) A video recording that is taken pursuant to this section is subject to a protective order of the court for the purpose of protecting the privacy of the victim. This subdivision does not affect the provisions of subdivision (b) of Section 868.7.

(f) A video recording made pursuant to this section shall be made available to the prosecuting attorney, the defendant, and his or her attorney for viewing during ordinary business hours. A video recording that is made available pursuant to this section is subject to a protective order of the court for the purpose of protecting the privacy of the victim.

(g) The video recording shall be destroyed after five years have elapsed from the date of entry of judgment, except that if an appeal is filed, the video recording shall not be destroyed until a final judgment on appeal has been rendered.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 423, Sec. 97. (SB 1494) Effective January 1, 2019.)

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