Testimony blocked in child rape case

Wednesday, November 24, 1993 - 11:00

Testimony blocked in child rape case

By Dave Wright

HOBART — A Supreme Court judge has refused to swear in a 12-year-old boy because he did not believe in God. The boy was called to give evidence against the man accused of raping him.

Justice Zeeman ruled that a young child who swore an oath in court had not only to understand it, but also to believe in it.

He said that the boy should not be sworn because he had no belief in God or an afterlife, and that he could not take an affirmation because he first had to believe in the oath and in God.

The Bar Association has called for changes to evidence laws.

Immediately after the ruling, the crown prosecutor decided to drop the case.

From GLW issue 124