Pitts v. Mississippi · ¶6

Ordinarily, the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause “guarantees the defendant a face-to-face meeting with witnesses appearing before the trier of fact.” Coy v. Iowa, 487 U. S. 1012, 1016 (1988). In child-abuse cases, however, that rule sometimes gives way. Consistent with the Sixth Amendment, a court may screen a child witness from the defendant when “necessary to protect [the child] from trauma that would be caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant, at least where such trauma would impair the child's ability to communicate.” Maryland v. Craig, 497 U. S. 836, 857 (1990).

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