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25 J. Fam. L. 687 (1986-1987)
Guardians Ad Litem for Child Victims in Criminal Proceedings

handle is hein.journals/branlaj25 and id is 695 raw text is: JOURNAL OF FAMILY LAW University of Louisville School of Law Volume Twenty-five 1986-87 Number Four GUARDIANS AD LITEM FOR CHILD VICTIMS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS By Mark Hardin* I. INTRODUCTION The appointment of guardians ad litem for child victims in crimi- nal proceedings is gaining increasing acceptance. Independent legal representatives have been appointed for child victims in criminal cases in many jurisdictions, and at least eight states now have statutes or court rules explicitly sanctioning this practice.' In March 1986, the * Assistant Director, National Legal Resource Center for Child Advocacy and Protection, American Bar Association. B.A. 1967, University of California at Berkeley; J.D. 1972, University of Oregon. This article was prepared pursuant to a subcontract with Abt Associates, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, under Contract J-LEAA-01 1-81 with the National Institute of Justice, United States Department of Justice. I wish to thank both Debra Whitcomb of Abt Associates and Carol Dorsey of the National Institute of Justice for their ideas and for their support of this research. I also wish to thank David Lloyd for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. Points of view and opinions stated in this article do not necessarily represent the official position or poli- cies of the American Bar Association or the United States Department of Justice. CAL. PENAL CODE § 1348.5 (Deering Supp. 1987)(authorizing three-year county pilot projects for the appointment of children's representatives in criminal cases, for children who are victims of or witnesses of child abuse or molestation alleged against a member of their immediate family); FLA. STAT. ANN. § 415.503 (Supp. 1985)(guardian ad litem shall be appointed to re- present a child in any child abuse or neglect, civil, or criminal judicial proceeding); IOWA CODE ANN. § 910 A.4 (West Supp. 1986)(prosecuting witnesses who are children are entitled to have their interests represented by guardians ad litem in certain criminal proceedings including incest, wanton neglect, abandonment, child pornography and sexual abuse); OKLA. STAT. ANN. tit. 21, §