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STATEMENT OF THE CASE:
After being convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct,
the defendant appealed arguing, among other things, that he was
denied a fair trial because the prosecutor did not ask the
victim during discovery whether she ever made a false allegation
of rape. He also argued the prosecutor committed misconduct by
using the word "victim" during trial.
FACTS:
Relevant facts include that the defendant sexually assaulted the
victim on her couch, struck her in the eye, and bit her breast.
At trial, the judge denied the defendant’s pretrial motion to
order the prosecutor to disclose whether the victim made any
past false or unfounded accusations of rape. The defendant
argued his rights were violated because the prosecutor used the
term “victim” during trial, contrary to her pretrial stipulation
that she would not use the word. The court disagreed with the
defendant on both issues, reasoning as follows.
RULING AND RATIONALE:
On the first issue, the court found no basis for compelling the
prosecutor to inquire of the victim as to whether she made past
false or unfounded accusations of rape. The prosecutor does not
have a duty to find evidence or conduct discovery for the
defendant.
On the second issue Prosecutorial Misconduct, the court noted
the prosecutor was not obligated to refuse to use the word
"victim" except that she agreed not to use the word in a
pretrial stipulation with defense counsel. In any case, the
prosecutor's use of the word "victim" twice during the
questioning of prospective jurors and once during the closing
argument did not affect the defendant's rights.
EDITORIAL COMMENT:
Summarized by: Aimee Johnson, Law Student
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