On February 7, 2012, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary of the Massachusetts Legislature will hold a hearing on Massachusetts Senate Bill No. 785, entitled "An Act relative to the protection of child witnesses." The bill would, among other proscriptions, make it a crime punishable by up to one year's imprisonment plus a fine for certain people to:
(i) disclose or release documents, which divulge the name or any other information, concerning a child or the information in them that concerns a child except to persons who, by reason of their participation in the proceeding, have reason to know such information; or (ii) disclose or release a picture of the child, except to persons who, by reason of their participation in the proceeding, have reason to possess such a picture.
A "child," under the bill, is "a person who is under the age of 18, who is a witness to a crime committed against another person." The categories of people affected by the bill are (1) all employees of the government connected with the case, including outside consultants hired by the government, (2) employees of the court, (3) the defendant, the defendant's employees, and the defendant's counsel, (4) jury members, (5) attendees at the trial, and (6) "members of the media, who come across such documents or information regardless of the source of such documents or information." read more »

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