Criminal Deposition For At-risk Persons

Under current law, the prosecution may request to take the deposition of an at-risk adult victim or witness if the victim or witness may be unavailable at trial. The act allows the prosecution to make the request for both at-risk adults and at-risk elders. If the motion relates to an at-risk elder victim, the court shall schedule the deposition. If the motion relates to an at-risk adult or an at-risk elder witness, there is a rebuttable presumption that the deposition should be taken to prevent injustice. The court may deny the motion if it finds that granting the motion will not prevent injustice. Under current law, the motion must be filed at least 3 days prior to taking the deposition. The act changes the timing to at least 14 days prior to taking the deposition unless good cause is shown for a shorter period of time. The act requires the parties to provide all available discovery at least 5 days prior to the deposition. If the discovery is not provided, either party can motion the court to reschedule the deposition until a time when the discovery can be provided.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)