State v. David Bueso (A-15-14; 074261)
When the witness is a child, the concepts of truth, falsehood, and punishment may be difficult to reach with open-ended questions. Subject to the discretion of the trial judge, who must carefully monitor the
examination to ensure that the child’s answers are his or her own, leading questions may be used in a competency inquiry. There was no plain error in the procedure used by the trial court in this case.
