State v. James

¶ 1. This case arose when the State, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 908.08 (2003-04), 1 sought to introduce the videotaped statements of two child witnesses in a sexual assault trial in lieu of full-blown live direct examination and to subsequently make the children available for questioning at the defendant's request. The trial court sustained the defendant's objection to this mode of testimonial presentation, observing that in its past experience, child witnesses sometimes refused to submit to cross-examination, thereby necessitating a mistrial in order to avert a violation of the defendant's…