Ohio v. Clark: What Does It Mean for Child Protective Services?

[Editor’s note: This post was originally published on the SOG’s civil law blog, On the Civil Side. Nonetheless, given its coverage of Confrontation Clause issues arising from a criminal case, we thought that it would be of interest to many of our readers.] Last month the U.S. Supreme Court decided Ohio v. Clark, 135 S.Ct. 2173 (2015). The Court determined whether a teacher’s testimony of a child’s statements to her was barred by the Confrontation Clause. My colleague, Jessica Smith, wrote a blog post about the holding and its impact in criminal cases. But, what about the world of child protective services? Ohio v. Clark, 135 S.Ct. 2175 (2015) The case involved an appeal of Clark’s criminal convictions for felonious assault, endangering children, and domestic violence against his girlfriend’s three-year-old son and eighteen-month-old daughter. At issue was the three-year-old child victim’s statement made to his preschool teacher, who is a mandated reporter under Ohio’s child protective laws. The child did not testify, and the teacher’s testimony was offered as evidence of Clark’s guilt. The child identified Clark as the person who caused his injuries after the teacher asked what happened and who did this when she noticed multiple injuries on the child. As required by Ohio’s mandated reporting law, the teacher called the child protective hotline. A child protective investigation and criminal charges followed. The U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether the Confrontation Clause applies to statements made to someone who is not a law enforcement officer, and whether the teacher’s testimony of the child’s [...]