(1) When a child is summoned as a witness in any hearing in any criminal matter, including any preliminary hearing, notwithstanding any other statutory provision, parents, a counselor, friend or other person having a supportive relationship with the child, or a facility dog, shall be allowed to remain in the courtroom at the witness stand with the child during the child's testimony unless in written findings made and entered, the court finds that the defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial will be unduly prejudiced.
(2) When a child is summoned as a witness in any hearing in a noncriminal matter that involves the abuse, neglect or abandonment of the child, including any preliminary hearing, notwithstanding any other statutory provision, a facility dog shall be allowed to remain in the courtroom at the witness stand with the child during the child's testimony.
(3) For purposes of this section, “facility dog” means a dog that is a graduate of an assistance dog organization that is a member of assistance dogs international or a similar internationally recognized organization whose main purpose is to grant accreditation to assistance dog organizations based on standards of excellence in all areas of assistance dog acquisition, training and placement.
S.L. 1983, ch. 206, § 1; S.L. 1989, ch. 48, § 1. Amended by S.L. 2017, ch. 176, § 1, eff. July 1, 2017.