Section 5-11.Testimony of Party or Child in Family Relations Matter When Protective Order, Restraining Order, Standing Criminal Protective Order or Standing Criminal Restraining Order Issued on Behalf of Party or Child

Section 5-11 applies in family relations matters, or in proceedings under General Statutes § 46b-38c, when a protective order, restraining order, standing criminal protective order, or standing criminal restraining order has been issued on behalf of a party or a child who is the subject of the case, and the other party is subject to that order. On motion of any party, and except as otherwise required by law and within available resources, the court may order that the protected party or child testify outside the physical presence of the other party. The order can allow alternative means of taking that testimony, including a secure video connection for videoconference hearings, and the testimony can be taken outside the courtroom or at another location inside or outside Connecticut. The court must still administer an oath to the party or child before the testimony is taken, as required by law.

The rule builds in two safeguards. First, nothing in it limits any party’s right to cross-examine a witness whose testimony is taken this way — the accommodation changes where the testimony happens, not the other side’s right to test it. Second, an order under this section can stay in effect for as long as the family relations proceeding is pending.