Q: My son's father was arrested for hitting me while I am pregnant with our second baby.Will I have to testify in front him
This is the second time we've been in court for this, the first time was in Virginia Beach and I dropped the charges. This time it's in Chesterfield and I had bruises on my face from him and the bedroom door was broken because of him. Police also heard a little bit because I called them in the middle of him attacking me. Police also took pictures of the door, my face and how our bedroom looked. I'm just terrified to look at him while telling exactly what happened.
A: You can ask the prosecutor if you can testify in camera, but it will have to be proven that you would be traumatized if you testify in front of him. Being really scared is not enough.
A: Everyone accused of a crime has a constitutional right to confront their accusers. Therefore, it is almost certain that if you testify, your testimony would be given in court with him in the room. In order for a judge to deny your child’s father the right to face his accuser in court, the judge would have to be convinced that there is a strong and overwhelming reason to deny this right to your child’s father. Some generalized fear or discomfort about looking at him while you testify is unlikely to be sufficient reason, so it is most likely that yo would be testifying in front of him.
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