CPL 65.10 · Article 65. Use of Closed-circuit Television For Certain Child Witnesses
Closed-circuit television; general rule; declaration of vulnerability
Text — Law content up to date as of October 2, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
* § 65.10 Closed-circuit television; general rule; declaration of vulnerability.
1. A child witness shall be declared vulnerable when the court, in accordance with the provisions of section 65.20, determines by clear and convincing evidence that it is likely that such child witness will suffer serious mental or emotional harm if required to testify at a criminal proceeding without the use of live, two-way closed-circuit television and that the use of such live, two-way closed-circuit television will diminish the likelihood or extent of, such harm.
2. When the court declares a child witness to be vulnerable, it shall, except as provided in subdivision four of section 65.30, authorize the taking of the testimony of the vulnerable child witness from the testimonial room by means of live, two-way closed-circuit television. Under no circumstances shall the provisions of this article be construed to authorize a closed-circuit television system by which events in the courtroom are not transmitted to the testimonial room during the testimony of the vulnerable child witness.
3. Nothing herein shall be contrued to preclude the court from exercising its power to close the courtroom or from exercising any authority it otherwise may have to protect the well-being of a witness and the rights of the defendant.
* NB Repealed September 1, 2027
Source of truth
- Edition
- Law content up to date as of October 2, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
- Official file
- https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/CPL65.10
- Text hash
- sha256 3129c426a2631438018a9c30a972507696b4a4fccb73f419d467f680a78053e3
- Composed by
- gen_ny_statutes.py 2026-11-10: the Senate's Open Legislation law tree (GET /api/3/laws/<ID>?full=true) read in document order; the Senate's PDF of the whole law (GET /pdf/laws/<ID>?full=true), read with PDFium, prints the same words in the same order
- The Senate's note "Repealed September 1, 2027": in force until then.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.