Rules of evidence; corroboration of accomplice testimony
§ 343.2. Rules of evidence; corroboration of accomplice testimony. 1. A respondent may not be found to be delinquent upon the testimony of an accomplice unsupported by corroborative evidence tending to connect the respondent with the commission of the crime or crimes charged in the petition.
2. An "accomplice" means a witness in a juvenile delinquency proceeding who, according to evidence adduced in such proceeding, may reasonably be considered to have participated in:
(a) the crime charged; or
(b) a crime based on the same or some of the same facts or conduct which constitutes the crime charged in the petition.
3. A witness who is an accomplice as defined in subdivision two is no less such because a proceeding, conviction or finding of delinquency against him would be barred or precluded by some defense or exemption such as infancy, immunity or previous prosecution amounting to a collateral impediment to such proceeding, conviction or finding, not affecting the conclusion that such witness engaged in the conduct constituting the crime with the mental state required for the commission thereof.
★ A respondent can't be found delinquent on accomplice testimony alone — it needs corroborative evidence connecting the respondent to the crime. Defines "accomplice."
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 5 — The JG-22 Family Court Act and in Volume 1 — The JG-22 in Plain English.