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19 Roger Williams U. L. Rev. 361 (2014)
Traumatized Children Who Participate in Legal Proceedings are Entitled to Testimonial and Participatory Accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act

handle is hein.journals/rwulr19 and id is 360 raw text is: Traumatized Children Who
Participate in Legal Proceedings are
Entitled to Testimonial and
Participatory Accommodations Under
the Americans with Disabilities Act
Wendy Murphy*
'Talking about the worst secret of one's life . . . [and] being
understood ... is remarkably important and beneficial. . .
I. INTRODUCTION
Many states have laws that allow children to testify in legal
proceedings with the assistance of special protective measures.2
* Professor Wendy Murphy, J.D., Adjunct Professor of Law, New England
Law I Boston. This article is an expanded version of remarks presented at
the Roger Williams University School of Law Symposium: Child Witnesses in
Sexual Abuse Cases. I thank the organizers of the event and the editors of
this Journal for their inspiration and patience, as this piece evolved from
slides to a full article. I also thank my research assistants, Sarah Fay and
Annalise Scobey, for helping with the arduous citation process. Most of all, I
thank Ruby McDonough for having faith that even the literally voiceless
among us can change the world.
1. Vincent Fellitti & Robert Anda, The Relationship of Adverse
Childhood Experiences to Adult Medical Disease, Psychiatric Disorders and
Sexual Behavior: Implications for Healthcare, in THE IMPACT OF EARLY LIFE
TRAUMA ON HEALTH AND DISEASE 77, 84 (Ruth A. Lanius et al. eds., 2010).
2. John E.B. Myers, Adjudication of Child Sexual Abuse Cases, 4
FUTURE OF CHILDREN 84, 87-90 (1994). See also, e.g., CONN. GEN. STAT. ANN.
§ 54-86g (West 2007) (permitting testimony of victim of child abuse outside of
courtroom); KY. REV. STAT. ANN. § 421.350 (LexisNexis 2009); N.C. GEN. STAT.
§ 15A-1225.1 (2011); N.J. STAT. ANN. § 2A:84A-32.4 (West 2005) (permitting
closed circuit television at the trial, out of the view of the jury, defendant, or
spectators); UTAH R. JUv. P. 37A (West 2013).

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