Victims Rights at Court Hearings
A. Rights Unique to the Preliminary Hearing
1. Penal Code § 861.5: Right to postpone preliminary hearing to accommodate the special physical, mental, or emotional needs of a child witness who is 10 years of age or younger or a dependent person.
2. Penal Code § 868: Right of victims family to be present in court; right to support person to remain in court after exclusion of public.
3. Penal Code § 868.7: Right to exclusion of public at prosecutors request in preliminary hearing when a child or dependent adult with a substantial cognitive impairment is a victim in a sexual assault case or to avoid a substantial risk of harm.
4. Penal Code § 872: Allows for hearsay testimony by police officer at preliminary hearing; saves victim from court appearance (Prop 115).
5. Penal Code § 1346: Right to have preliminary hearing testimony videotaped for certain minors under 15 years of age or developmentally disabled.
6. Penal Code § 1346.1: Prosecution may request a domestic violence or spousal rape victims preliminary hearing testimony be videotaped .
B. Rights Applicable to All Court Hearings Before Disposition or Sentencing
1. Penal Code § 679.02(a)(1): Right to be called off from testifying promptly.
2. Penal Code § 1048: Precedence of certain actions on courts calendar, specifically, preference to certain sexual assault cases or when a child or dependent adult is a material witness or victim.
3. Penal Code § 859.1: Right to exclusion of public for minors under the age of 16 years or dependent person with substantial cognitive impairment.
4. Penal Code § 868.5: Right of prosecuting witness in certain cases to have in court up to two persons of his or her own choosing, one of whom may be a witness, at the preliminary hearing and at the trial, or at a juvenile court proceeding, during the testimony of the prosecuting witness. Only one of those support persons may accompany the witness to the witness stand, although the other may remain in the courtroom during the witness testimony.
5. Penal Code § 1102.6: Right of the victim to be present at trial.
6. Penal Code § 1328.5: Right of peace officer to privacy re: residency.
7. Penal Code § 679.02(a)(7): Right to be notified of witness fees.
8. Penal Code § 1329: Possible right to witness fees.
9. Penal Code § 1329.1: Right to notification on subpoena of allowable fees.
10. Penal Code § 1334.5: Right to exemption from process for witness passing through state.
11. Penal Code § 1347.5: Right of person with disabilities to reasonable accommodations to assure that adults and children with disabilities who have been victims of an alleged sexual or other specified offenses are able to participate effectively in criminal proceedings.
12. Welfare and Institutions Code § 676: Right of the victim and up to two support persons to be present at a juvenile trial.
13. Welfare and Institutions Code § 676.5: Right to attend juvenile proceedings; probation officer shall notify victim of this right.
