Sixteen years ago in a case titled State vs. Michaels,  New Jersey’s Supreme Court suggested that an initial interviews with child victim of sex abuse should be videotaped.  That conclusion was premised upon the court’s recognition that children are extremely susceptible to suggestive or coercive questioning.

In recent times, a case has been taken back to the Supreme Court to determine whether videotaping of an initial interview should be a per se rule of law in all child sex abuse cases..

In the case now before the Court, the child victim was interviewed by a investigator with special skills in this area of law enforcement where the interview was videotaped.  Unfortunately, after the interview was completed the government learned that the videotape had malfunctioned.  Shortly thereafter, the investigator sat down with pencil and paper and recreated the interview.  Two months later, the investigator using his post-interview notes prepared a formal report and destroyed the original notes.
The defendant was ultimately convicted of the offense and was sentenced to a thirty-year term of imprisonment.

Its more than interesting  to note that no other jurisdiction in the country imposes a bright line principle requiring the videotape of interviews of young sex abuse victims.