State v. Menzies

In State v. Menzies, 26 Conn. App. 674, 603 A.2d 419, cert. denied, 221 Conn. 924, 608 A.2d 690 (1992), the state filed a motion for special procedures pursuant to General Statutes 54-86g (b); The defendant specifically objected to the state's request that the witness' guardian ad litem be allowed to sit next to the child witness during her testimony on the ground that the guardian's presence enhanced the credibility of and heightened the sympathy for the witness. Id., 691. The trial court granted the state's request after holding an evidentiary hearing in which the court found that the state had sustained its burden by clear and convincing evidence. Id., 690. The Court stated: "Although the State v. Jarzbek court concluded that General Statutes 54-86g (a) requires that there be an evidentiary hearing prior to the court's adoption of the procedures outlined therein, no such similar requirement has yet been adopted with respect to the procedures outlined in subsection (b). Because the parties have not raised the issue of whether subsection (b) requires an evidentiary hearing, and because a full evidentiary hearing was conducted here, we need not address that question." Id., 689 n.13.