Q: Is it legal in Virginia to exclude the complainant in a criminal case along with the witnesses?
I was in Gen'l Dist. Court the other day and the defense asked the judge to sequester the witnesses. I was the complainant/victim, the one who filed charges with the magistrate. The two witnesses for the prosecution and myself were sequestered.
A: Yes. The rules of evidence allow witnesses (including a complainant in a criminal case) to be sequestered as long as they might testify in order to preserve the integrity of their testimony--i.e., so that the testimony is not influenced by the testimony of other witnessed. Parties to the case can be present, but in a criminal matter the parties are the Commonwealth (or the local government) and the defendant--not the complainant.
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