In any custody and/or termination trial and/or a hearing on a motion or probable cause hearing where a petition has been filed by the department of children, youth, and families in accordance with §§ 14-1-11, 40-11-7 and/or 15-7-7 in the family court, the court may, in its discretion, permit as evidence any statement by a child under the age of thirteen (13) years old about a prescribed act of abuse, neglect, or misconduct by a parent or guardian, if that statement was made spontaneously within a reasonable time after the act is alleged to have occurred, and if the statement was made to someone the child would normally turn to for sympathy, protection, or advice.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 14-1-69
Hearsay
Known as the Family Court Act
The act spans §§ 14–14 (95 sections).
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case 74 Md. App. 1 - Cassidy v. State (1988)
Most recently applied in 156 Md. App. 139 - Snowden v. State (April 2004)
P.L. 1985, ch. 381, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 303, § 1.
Official source: Rhode Island General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Rhode Island statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.