Terrell Perkins v. Gregory Hancock, Warden

In Maryland v. Craig, 497 U.S. 836 (1 990), this Court held that a child witnesw may be permitted to testify at trial in the absence of -face-to-face confrontation with the defendant, if the State makes an adequate showing of necessity. The trial court must find that the child witness would be traumatized, not by the courtroom generally, but by the presence of the defendant. The court must also find that the emotional distress suffered by the child witness in the presence of the defendant is more than de minimis. 497 U.S. at 855-56. The question presented in this petition is: 1. Whether a defendant's confrontation rights under Craig, are violated when a court permits a minor child witness to testify ; outside the defendant's presence, in court, behind a shield, without adequate pro©f that the emotional distress to the child would suffer by testifying in court would be caused by the defendant's presence. _