17 results for 'cat:"Fair Trial" AND cat:"Sex Offender"'.
J. Wise finds the lack of physical evidence against defendant did not prevent the jury from finding him guilty of rape. The victim's uncontroverted testimony established all elements of the offense and was not contradicted by any of the testimony provided by her mother or defendant's daughter. Meanwhile, the mention of defendant's previous prison time by his daughter did not deprive him of a fair trial because the testimony was elicited by his own attorney during cross-examination and, in any case, was stricken from the record by the trial court. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wise, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1717, Categories: Evidence, fair Trial, sex Offender
J. Rivera finds that the appellate division improperly convicted Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sex crimes based on uncharged prior bad acts not germane to the case because cross-examining Weinstein about those allegations threatened to portray him in a highly prejudicial light, and a new trial should be held since both errors deprived him of a fair trial. Meanwhile, the court properly held that rape charges were not time-barred because the statute of limitations had been tolled for time during which Weinstein was continuously out-of-state. Reversed in part.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Rivera, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 24, Categories: Evidence, fair Trial, sex Offender
J.Heytens finds the lower court improperly ordered the victim of sexual assault to use her real name. The victim had a legitimate interest in anonymity and her continuing use of a fake name at the damages trial is not unfair to the assaulter as he had already been found guilty of rape. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Heytons, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 23-1151, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender, Assault
J. Starring finds a lower court improperly sentenced a defendant on six counts of sexual conduct with a minor. The State argued it properly excluded "nonessential people" from the courtroom during the defendant's victim's testimony. However, the defendant presented sufficient evidence that the court erred in closing the courtroom during the essential parts of the proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Arizona Court Of Appeals Division Two, Judge: Staring, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 2 CA-CR 2022-87, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender
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J. Sheehan finds the trial court erroneously instructed the jury during defendant's trial on rape and gross sexual imposition charges that the element of force could be proven by evidence the victim's "will was overcome by fear or duress alone." Although defendant was the victim's stepfather, she was 18 at the time of the sexual assault and was not, by definition, a child. The victim admitted during her testimony that defendant did not force her to do anything when he assaulted her in the shower, and although there is other evidence in the record that could satisfy the heightened force standard - including that the victim urinated on herself when defendant initially touched her - the jury instruction deprived defendant of a fair trial and his convictions must be vacated. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sheehan, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-471, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender, Jury Instructions
J. Maxa finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant of rape. Defendant moved to dismiss the case against him when audio recordings revealed state actors recorded conversations with his attorney and opened his legal mail, and the state did not prove that these wrongs didn't inject prejudice against him during trial proceedings. Further proceedings are called for to determine if his charges should be tossed or if a new trial could take place. Reversed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Maxa, Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 56814-4-II, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender
J. Groves finds the bill of particulars produced for defendant by the state was not so threadbare as to violate his due process rights. It contained information about all the sexual assaults that made up the indictment and as clear a timeframe as possible, given the age of the victim at the time of the assaults. Meanwhile, the trial court's decision to admit victim-impact statements from several witnesses did not violate defendant's fair trial rights because the testimony was elicited only in relation to the victim's disclosure of the abuse and did not improperly inflame the jury. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Groves, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4793, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender, Due Process
J. Feldman finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant of child rape. The lower court allowed a witness to testify that defendant had sexually abused the victim's sister, despite a pretrial order suppressing any statements on that issue. The lower court should have declared a mistrial after the error and after defendant moved for one, but did not do so. A new trial is necessary as a result. Reversed.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Feldman, Filed On: December 26, 2023, Case #: 84083-5-I, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender
J. Gonzalez finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of rape. Defendant claims it was an error to proceed with his preliminary hearing without his legal counsel, and while it is true his counsel should have been present, it was ultimately a harmless error and did not influence the outcome of his trial. Affirmed.
Court: Washington Supreme Court, Judge: Gonzalez, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 101269-1, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender
J. Williamowski finds testimony from a detective about defendant's use of the Back Page website to pay for prostitutes to satisfy "sexual urges" was highly prejudicial and defense counsel's failure to object prejudiced defendant. Although part of the state's case was to prove defendant had sexual desires despite a traumatic brain injury, there were numerous other ways to establish such desires, including the pornography at his home that was related to the charges. Defense counsel also failed to object to a social service worker's testimony she believed the victim, which was impermissible because it did not involve the medical assessment conducted by the worker. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Williamowski, Filed On: September 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3298, Categories: fair Trial, Ineffective Assistance, sex Offender
J. Boomgaarden finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of sexual abuse. Defendant claims on appeal that the trial court improperly allowed sexually explicit content as evidence and that the prosecutor wrongfully elicited testimony from defendant's victim, his daughter. But defendant has not shown how any of these alleged errors injected prejudice into proceedings, and there is no evidence they impeded on defendant's right to a fair trial. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Boomgaarden, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: S-22-0267, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Kilbane finds the trial court erroneously denied defendant's motion for a mistrial in a rape case. The state's failure to disclose a 46-minute video interview of the victim with police until the middle of defendant's trial on a rape charge violated his due process and fair trial rights. Although the prosecutor claimed it inadvertently failed to disclose the video and had also not seen it prior to trial, the defense theory of the case relied on inconsistencies in the victim's story, several of which were included on the video. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Kilbane, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2292, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender, Discovery
J. Ripple finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's habeas petition claiming that a prosecutor improperly told the jury an acquittal would require them to find the witnesses were lying. Defendant argued this forced him to prove his innocence, making his trial unfair. On de novo review, "the prosecutor's comments might give us significant pause," but the federal court's review is deferential to the state court's decision, which was not an unreasonable application of federal law. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Ripple, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 21-2819, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Gallagher finds the trial court included proper jury instructions on force during defendant's trial on rape charges when it explained overt, physical conduct is not necessary in cases such as defendant's, which involved a pseudo-parental relationship between the attacker and the victim. Furthermore, several scattered uses of the word "victim" during proceedings did not deprive defendant of a fair trial because the court repeatedly told the jury it must presume defendant was innocent until proven guilty and the limited use of the word was not prejudicial. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gallagher, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1667, Categories: fair Trial, sex Offender, Jury Instructions