(a) This article shall apply to any criminal prosecution for a physical offense or a sexual offense , or a violent offense where the alleged victim or witness is a child or a protected person.

Attorney's Note

Under the Alabama Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Violationup to 30 daysup to $200
For details, see Ala. Code § 13A-5-7
criminal case

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Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-25-1

  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) For the purposes of this article, a “physical offense, a sexual offense, or a violent offense,” is defined to include all of the following crimes:

(1) A sex offense as provided in Section 15-20A-5.
(2) A violent offense as provided in Section 12-25-32.
(3) Aggravated child abuse as provided in Section 26-15-3.1.
(4) Assault in any degree.
(5) Any offense involving domestic violence, elder abuse, or a violation of a protection order.
(6) Any attempt to commit any of the offenses listed in subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive.
(c) For the purposes of this article, “child” means a person who is under the age of 16 years at the time of trial.
(d) For the purposes of this article, “protected person” means a person who has a developmental disability attributable to an intellectual disability, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or other disabling neurological condition that requires training or support similar to that required by a person with an intellectual disability, if any of the following apply:

(1) The disability originates before the person attains 22 years of age, the disability can be expected to continue indefinitely, and the disability constitutes a substantial handicap to the ability of the person to function in society.
(2) If the disability is attributable to an intellectual disability, the condition is manifested before the person attains 18 years of age, the disability can be expected to continue indefinitely, and the disability constitutes a substantial handicap to the ability of the person to function in society.
(3) The disability results in significant subaverage intellectual functioning with concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior that are manifested during the developmental period.
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