As amended through January 31, 2024
Rule 9 - Use of closed circuit television testimony(a) In any case governed by these rules in which a child eleven (11) years old or less is to be a witness, the court, upon order of its own or upon motion of a party, may permit the child witness to testify through live, one-way, closed-circuit television whereby there shall be no transmission into the room from which the child witness is testifying.(b) In any case in which a child over the age of eleven (11) years is to be a witness, the court, upon order of its own or upon motion of a party, and upon a finding of good cause, shall permit the child witness to testify through live, one-way, closed-circuit television whereby there shall be no transmission into the room from which the child witness is testifying.(c) The testimony of the child witness shall be taken in any room, separate and apart from the courtroom, from which testimony of the child witness can be transmitted to the courtroom by means of live, one-way, closed-circuit television. The testimony shall be deemed as given in open court.(d) The judge, the attorneys for the parties, and any other person the court permits for the purpose of providing support for the child in order to promote the ability of the child to testify shall be present in the testimonial room at all times during the testimony of the child witness. The judge may permit liberal consultation between counsel and the parties by adjournment, electronic means, or otherwise.(e) The image and voice of the child witness, as well as the image of all other persons present in the testimony room, other than the operator, shall be transmitted live by means of live, one-way, closed-circuit television in the courtroom. The courtroom shall be equipped with monitors sufficient to permit the parties to observe the demeanor of the child witness during his or her testimony.(f) The operator shall place herself or himself and the closed-circuit television equipment in a position that permits the entire testimony of the child witness to be transmitted to the courtroom.(g) The child witness shall testify under oath, and the examination and cross-examination of the child witness shall, in all other respects, be conducted in the same manner as if the child witness testified in the courtroom.(h) When the testimony of the child witness is transmitted from the testimonial room into the courtroom, the court stenographer shall record the testimony in the same manner as if the child witness testified in the courtroom.(i) Under all circumstances, the image of the child witness transmitted shall include the entirety of his or her person ordinarily subject to observation by the human eye, subject to such limitations as may be unavoidable by reason of standard courtroom furnishings.(j) Should it be required, for the purposes of identification that the person to be identified and the child witness be present in the courtroom at the same time, the court shall ensure that this meeting takes place after the child witness has completed his or her testimony; and this confrontation shall, to the extent possible, be accomplished in a manner that is nonthreatening to the child witness.W. Va. R. Proc. Child & Neg. Proceed. 9