Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 6.djvu/412

 104 STAT. 4802 PUBLIC LAW 101-647—NOV. 29, 1990 become part of the court record and be kept by the court until it is destroyed. " (c) COMPETENCY EXAMINATIONS.— "(1) EFFECT OF FEDERAL RULES OF EVIDENCE.— Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to abrogate rule 601 of the Federal Rules of Evidence. "(2) PRESUMPTION. — A child is presumed to be competent. "(3) REQUIREMENT OF WRITTEN MOTION. — A competency examination regarding a child witness may be conducted by the court only upon written motion and offer of proof of incompetency by a party. "(4) REQUIREMENT OF COMPELLING REASONS.— A competency examination regarding a child may be conducted only if the court determines, on the record, that compelling reasons exist. A child's age alone is not a compelling reason. "(5) PERSONS PERMITTED TO BE PRESENT.—The only persons who may be permitted to be present at a competency examination are— "(A) the judge; "(B) the attorney for the government; "(C) the attorney for the defendant; "(D) a court reporter; and "(E) persons whose presence, in the opinion of the court, is necessary to the welfare and well-being of the child, including the child's attorney, guardian ad litem, or adult attendant. "(6) NOT BEFORE JURY. —A competency examination regarding a child witness shall be conducted out of the sight and hearing of a jury. "(7) DIRECT EXAMINATION OF CHILD,— Examination of a child related to competency shall normally be conducted by the court on the basis of questions submitted by the attorney for the Government and the attorney for the defendant including a party acting as an attorney pro se. The court may permit an attorney but not a party acting as an attorney pro se to examine a child directly on competency if the court is satisfied that the child will not suffer emotional trauma as a result of the examination. "(8) APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS. — The questions asked at the competency examination of a child shall be appropriate to the age and developmental level of the child, shall not be related to the issues at trial, and shall focus on determining the child's ability to understand and answer simple questions. "(9) PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC EXAMINATIONS. —Psychological and psychiatric examinations to assess the competency of a child witness shall not be ordered without a showing of compelling need. "(d) PRIVACY PROTECTION. — "(1) CoNFiDENTiAUTY OF INFORMATION.— (A) A person acting in a capacity described in subparagraph (B) in connection with a criminal proceeding shall— "(i) keep all documents that disclose the name or any other information concerning a child in a secure place to which no person who does not have reason to know their contents has access; and "(ii) disclose documents described in clause (i) or the information in them that concerns a child only to persons

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