Senate Bill 0794e1

    SB 794                                         First Engrossed



  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to witnesses; amending s.

  3         90.502, F.S.; providing that a discussion or

  4         activity that is not a meeting for purposes of

  5         s. 286.011, F.S., does not waive the

  6         attorney-client privilege; amending s. 90.612,

  7         F.S.; requiring a judge to protect a witness

  8         under a specific age during interrogation and

  9         to restrict unnecessary repetition of

10         questions; requiring that questions be stated

11         in a form appropriate to the age and

12         understanding of the witness; providing an

13         effective date.

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15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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17         Section 1.  Subsection (6) is added to section 90.502,

18  Florida Statutes, to read:

19         90.502  Lawyer-client privilege.--

20         (6)  A discussion or activity that is not a meeting for

21  purposes of s. 286.011 shall not be construed to waive the

22  attorney-client privilege established in this section. This

23  shall not be construed to constitute an exemption to either s.

24  119.07 or s. 286.011.

25         Section 2.  Section 90.612, Florida Statutes, is

26  amended to read:

27         90.612  Mode and order of interrogation and

28  presentation.--

29         (1)  The judge shall exercise reasonable control over

30  the mode and order of the interrogation of witnesses and the

31  presentation of evidence, so as to:


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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    SB 794                                         First Engrossed



  1         (a)  Facilitate, through effective interrogation and

  2  presentation, the discovery of the truth.

  3         (b)  Avoid needless consumption of time.

  4         (c)  Protect witnesses from harassment or undue

  5  embarrassment.

  6         (2)  Cross-examination of a witness is limited to the

  7  subject matter of the direct examination and matters affecting

  8  the credibility of the witness. The court may, in its

  9  discretion, permit inquiry into additional matters.

10         (3)  Leading questions should not be used on the direct

11  examination of a witness except as may be necessary to develop

12  the witness's testimony.  Ordinarily, leading questions should

13  be permitted on cross-examination.  When a party calls a

14  hostile witness, an adverse party, or a witness identified

15  with an adverse party, interrogation may be by leading

16  questions.

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18  The judge shall take special care to protect a witness under

19  age 14 from questions that are in a form that cannot

20  reasonably be understood by a person of the age and

21  understanding of the witness, and shall take special care to

22  restrict the unnecessary repetition of questions.

23         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.

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