Sec. 46b-138a. Testimony of accused juvenile, parent or guardian in juvenile proceeding.
Sec. 46b-138a. Testimony of accused juvenile, parent or guardian in juvenile
proceeding. In any juvenile proceeding in the Superior Court, the accused child shall
be a competent witness, and at his or her option may testify or refuse to testify in such
proceedings. The parent or guardian of such child shall be a competent witness but may
elect or refuse to testify for or against the accused child except that a parent or guardian
who has received personal violence from the child may, upon the child's trial for offenses
arising from such personal violence, be compelled to testify in the same manner as any
other witness. No unfavorable inferences shall be drawn by the court from the accused
child's silence.
(P.A. 79-263.)
Section explicitly provides that an accused child, as well as his parent or guardian, may refuse to testify in a delinquency
proceeding, and that no adverse inference may be drawn against the accused child. 268 C. 614.