Lujan

*1502 Opinion

In Maryland v. Craig (1990) 497 U.S. 836 [ 111 L.Ed.2d 666 , 110 S.Ct. 3157 ] (Craig), the United States Supreme Court held that a child abuse victim could testify by closed-circuit television under certain circumstances without violating the criminal defendant’s right to confront witnesses. In the published portion of our decision, we hold that the same rule applies to a child witness who is not a victim. We also hold that California courts have the inherent authority to order remote testimony in these circumstances.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

I. Offense Conduct

A. Lena

In the spring of 2006, James C. Lujan was dating Stacy B. When Lujan, Stacy B. and her 17-month-old daughter Lena started living together in a converted garage, Lena was a “very happy” and healthy toddler. Over the next several weeks, that changed. Lujan’s family members and others noticed bruises on Lena’s shoulder blades, head, neck and chest. They saw she had a black eye and that her fingertips were burnt and red. Lujan told a friend that the injuries to Lena’s shoulder blades looked like they were made with “a fucking stick.” Others noticed that Lena seemed frightened of Lujan. They saw…