Section 7.4 Statutory Provisions

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

III. (§7.4) Statutory Provisions

Various Missouri statutes provide for discovery in criminal cases.

Section 491.075, RSMo Supp. 2004, deals with statements of children under 14 years of age who are victims of an offense under Chapters 565, 566, or 568, RSMo. Section 491.680.3, RSMo 2000, provides the circumstances in which the defendant may be excluded from a videotaped deposition of the alleged child victim. These statutes were held to be constitutional in State v. Naucke, 829 S.W.2d 445 (Mo. banc 1992). The prosecution must inform the defendant of the intention to use any statement. In deciding admissibility, the trial court must consider the totality of circumstances surrounding the out-of-court statements, such as:

spontaneity;

consistent repetition;

the use of language not expected by a child of a similar age;

lack of motive to lie; and

the mental state of the child.

State v. White, 873 S.W.2d 874, 877 (Mo. App. E.D. 1994).

Section 492.303, RSMo 2000, permits the state to take depositions of any person found by the court to be an “essential witness.” Under this provision, “[a] person is an ‘essential witness’ if he [or she] is an eyewitness to a felony or if . . . the testimony would establish an element of the felony that cannot be proven in any other...