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(Des Moines, IA) -- A proposed amendment to the Iowa Constitution allowing children to testify in court against accused abusers via closed circuit television is moving through the state legislature. The proposal was filed at the beginning of this year's assembly by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's office.
"As a prosecutor, it is so important to me that we protect kids in court," Bird says. "These kids will have their day in court and the people who hurt them or hurt other kids will be held accountable under the law. So, I'm very thankful to see this constitutional amendment working its way through the legislature."
The proposal comes as a result of a recent decision by the Iowa Supreme Court. State Sen. Dan Dawson (R-Council Bluffs) chaired the subcommittee meeting on the Senate side.
"In State v. White the Iowa Supreme Court found that there was a right enshrined for a guaranteed face-to-face confrontation between the accused and the witnesses," Dawson says. "That recent Supreme Court ruling has subsequently thrown out 915.38 which is protections we've had in the Iowa Code for decades now to allow for an alternative method of testimony for minors and individuals...to lower the trauma."
It's moving through the process with bipartisan support. State Sen. Janet Petersen (D-Des Moines) serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"I can't emphasize enough the negative consequences of that Supreme Court ruling," Petersen says. "No other state in the country requires children who've been sexually abused to have to sit in a room and face their abuser."
Because it's an amendment to the constitution, it must pass the Iowa Legislature twice and then go to a vote by the people of Iowa. This is its first run through the lawmaking process.