Maryland's Statutory Hearsay Exception for Reliable Statements by Alleged Child Abuse Victims: A Hesitant Step Forward.

39 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2008

See all articles by Lynn McLain

Lynn McLain

University of Baltimore - School of Law

Date Written: Fall 1987

Abstract

The Maryland General Assembly recently passed legislation, effective July 1, 1988, which grants a trial court the opportunity to allow a physician, psychologist, social worker, or teacher to testify to an out-of-court statement made by an alleged child abuse victim if the court finds that the circumstances in which the statement was made exhibit sufficient particularized guarantees of reliability. This article discusses the need for such an exception to the rule precluding admission of hearsay for statements made by alleged victims of child abuse, exposes the inadequacies of pre-existing exceptions, addresses the constitutional considerations raised by admission of such hearsay statements, and studies the approaches taken by other jurisdictions. The author critiques the new Maryland statute and urges the adoption of liberalizing amendments.

Keywords: child abuse, alleged victims, hearsay, Maryland, statutes, legislation, courts

JEL Classification: K10

Suggested Citation

McLain, Lynn, Maryland's Statutory Hearsay Exception for Reliable Statements by Alleged Child Abuse Victims: A Hesitant Step Forward. (Fall 1987). University of Baltimore Law Review, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1987, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1162258

Lynn McLain (Contact Author)

University of Baltimore - School of Law ( email )

1420 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218
United States

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