David Waldon Paschal v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The court held that substantial evidence supported Paschal’s witness-bribery conviction because an offer to pay the student to “drop the case” could be understood as an effort to influence her testimony, even though formal charges had not yet been filed. It also held that the circuit court improperly excluded evidence bearing on the State witness’s possible bias. The court further held that the sexual-assault statute was unconstitutional as applied because it criminalized consensual sexual contact between adults without requiring misuse of a position of trust or authority, and it therefore reversed and dismissed the sexual-assault convictions. Justice Brown, joined by Justices Gunter and Baker, and Justice Baker, joined by Justices Brown and Gunter, would have upheld the sexual-assault convictions; Justice Danielson would have reversed the witness-bribery conviction for insufficient evidence.