ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0100
ENROLLED ACT NO. 67, SENATE
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 GENERAL SESSION
1
AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; specifying and
amending procedures for children to testify in specified
criminal cases outside the presence of the defendant and
the jury; specifying accommodations that may be provided to
children testifying in specified criminal cases; making
conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 7-11-409 is created to read:
7-11-409. Testimony from child witnesses;
accommodations.
(a) In any case in which the defendant is charged
with incest as defined in W.S. 6-4-402(a) or sexual assault
as defined in W.S. 6-2-302 through 6-2-304 and 6-2-314
through 6-2-317 and a child less than eighteen (18) years
of age is the victim, the court may allow the child to
testify remotely, outside the presence of the defendant or
the jury, in accordance with all of the following:
(i) Before permitting the child to testify
remotely under this subsection, the court shall hold a
hearing and shall find that the child testifying in the
courtroom would cause the child to suffer more than de
minimis emotional distress and that remote testimony by the
child is necessary to protect the welfare of the child;
(ii) The court may exclude the defendant from
being physically present in the same room as the child
during the child's testimony if the court finds that the
presence of the defendant in the same room as the child is
substantially likely to cause substantial emotional
distress to the child and that the emotional distress is ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0100
ENROLLED ACT NO. 67, SENATE
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 GENERAL SESSION
2
substantially likely to impair the ability of the child to
communicate;
(iii) If the defendant is excluded under
paragraph (ii) of this subsection, the child shall testify
by way of a two (2) way closed circuit television or other
appropriate secure technology. The testimony of the child
shall be televised live in the courtroom, and
simultaneously the room in which the child is testifying
shall have a monitor that displays a view of the courtroom
and that displays the defendant;
(iv) The defendant may waive the right to have
the defendant's image televised in the room in which the
child is testifying;
(v) If the defendant is excluded from the room
in which the child is testifying, the court:
(A) Shall provide for instantaneous,
real-time communication between the defendant and the
defendant's attorney;
(B) Shall grant reasonable court recesses
during the testimony for consultation between the defendant
and the defendant's attorney;
(C) May communicate by audio system with
attorneys outside of the courtroom.
(vi) If, on the motion of the district attorney
and outside the presence of the jury, the court
specifically finds that the child will suffer substantial
emotional distress that will impair the child's ability to
communicate due to the presence of the jury, the court may ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0100
ENROLLED ACT NO. 67, SENATE
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 GENERAL SESSION
3
exclude the jury from the room in which the child is
testifying. The testimony of the child shall be televised
at the same time to the courtroom by closed circuit
television or other real-time audio and video technology.
(b) In any case in which the defendant is charged
with incest as defined in W.S. 6-4-402(a), sexual assault
as defined in W.S. 6-2-302 through 6-2-304 and 6-2-314
through 6-2-317, human trafficking as defined in W.S.
6-2-701 through 6-2-703 or a violent felony as defined by
W.S. 6-1-104(a)(xii) and a child less than eighteen (18)
years of age is the victim, the court may, on its own
motion or upon a motion by a party, provide reasonable
accommodations to the child, including but not limited to
the following:
(i) To be addressed, asked questions and read
the oath or affirmation to testify truthfully in an
age-appropriate manner;
(ii) To be free of nuisance or harassing tactics
in the proceeding;
(iii) To have a person who would contribute to
the well-being of the child present, clearly visible and in
close proximity, if the person is not and will not be a
witness in the proceeding;
(iv) To have sufficient breaks in the
proceedings to allow for the comfort of the child;
(v) To have a certified therapeutic dog, an item
used to provide psychological comfort, or both, present in
the room with the child. ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0100
ENROLLED ACT NO. 67, SENATE
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 GENERAL SESSION
4Section 2. W.S. 7-11-408(h) and by creating a new
subsection (j) is amended to read:
7-11-408. Videotape depositions.
(h) If the prosecutor elects to utilize a videotaped
deposition pursuant to this section, the child will not or
is unable to provide live testimony in accordance with W.S.
7-11-409 and the videotape has been taken and is
admissible, the child may not testify in court without the
consent of the defendant.
(j) The court may provide for the child to testify
under the conditions specified in W.S. 7-11-409 in lieu of
a videotaped deposition under this section. Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to affect the accommodations
available under W.S. 7-11-409(b) for the child. ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. SF0100
ENROLLED ACT NO. 67, SENATE
SIXTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2025 GENERAL SESSION
5Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2025.
(END)
Speaker of the HousePresident of the SenateGovernorTIME APPROVED: _________DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.
Chief Clerk