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| [ House Amendment 001 ] |
91_HB0151
LRB9101138RCks
1 AN ACT to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 by
2 adding Section 115-21.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 is
6 amended by adding Section 115-21 as follows:
7 (725 ILCS 5/115-21 new)
8 Sec. 115-21. Hearsay exception; elderly person.
9 (a) A statement made by an elderly person as defined in
10 Section 16-1.3 of the Criminal Code of 1961 that is not
11 covered by any other exception to the hearsay rule but has
12 equivalent circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness, must
13 be admitted as evidence, whether or not the declarant is
14 available, if the court determines that (1) the statement is
15 offered as evidence of a material fact and (2) the statement
16 is more probative on the point for which it is offered than
17 any other evidence that the proponent can procure through
18 reasonable efforts.
19 (b) The testimony may only be admitted if the court
20 finds in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury
21 that the time, content, and circumstances of the statement
22 provide sufficient safeguards of reliability. The safeguards
23 include:
24 (1) the credibility of the witness who testifies
25 that the statement was made;
26 (2) assurance of the declarant's personal knowledge
27 of the event;
28 (3) the declarant's interest or bias and the
29 presence or absence of capacity or motive to fabricate;
30 (4) the presence or absence of suggestiveness or
31 prompting at the time the statement was made;
-2- LRB9101138RCks
1 (5) whether the declarant has ever reaffirmed or
2 recanted the statement; and
3 (6) corroboration by physical evidence or
4 behavioral changes in the declarant.
5 (c) The record must reflect the court's findings of fact
6 and conclusions of law as to the reliability requirement.
7 (d) A statement may not be admitted under the exception
8 set forth in this Section unless its proponent gives written
9 notice stating his or her intention to offer the statement
10 and the particulars of it to the adverse party sufficiently
11 in advance of offering the statement to provide the adverse
12 party with a fair opportunity to prepare to meet the
13 statement.