About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

25 J. Fam. L. 687 (1986-1987)
Guardians Ad Litem for Child Victims in Criminal Proceedings

handle is hein.journals/branlaj25 and id is 695 raw text is: JOURNAL OF FAMILY LAW
University of Louisville School of Law
Volume Twenty-five     1986-87            Number Four

GUARDIANS AD LITEM FOR CHILD VICTIMS
IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
By Mark Hardin*
I.  INTRODUCTION
The appointment of guardians ad litem for child victims in crimi-
nal proceedings is gaining increasing acceptance. Independent legal
representatives have been appointed for child victims in criminal cases
in many jurisdictions, and at least eight states now have statutes or
court rules explicitly sanctioning this practice.' In March 1986, the
* Assistant Director, National Legal Resource Center for Child Advocacy and Protection,
American Bar Association. B.A. 1967, University of California at Berkeley; J.D. 1972, University
of Oregon.
This article was prepared pursuant to a subcontract with Abt Associates, Inc. of Cambridge,
Massachusetts, under Contract J-LEAA-01 1-81 with the National Institute of Justice, United
States Department of Justice. I wish to thank both Debra Whitcomb of Abt Associates and Carol
Dorsey of the National Institute of Justice for their ideas and for their support of this research. I
also wish to thank David Lloyd for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. Points
of view and opinions stated in this article do not necessarily represent the official position or poli-
cies of the American Bar Association or the United States Department of Justice.
CAL. PENAL CODE § 1348.5 (Deering Supp. 1987)(authorizing three-year county pilot
projects for the appointment of children's representatives in criminal cases, for children who are
victims of or witnesses of child abuse or molestation alleged against a member of their immediate
family); FLA. STAT. ANN. § 415.503 (Supp. 1985)(guardian ad litem shall be appointed to re-
present a child in any child abuse or neglect, civil, or criminal judicial proceeding); IOWA CODE
ANN. § 910 A.4 (West Supp. 1986)(prosecuting witnesses who are children are entitled to have
their interests represented by guardians ad litem in certain criminal proceedings including incest,
wanton neglect, abandonment, child pornography and sexual abuse); OKLA. STAT. ANN. tit. 21, §

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most