State v. Shaw

Summary

The court reversed the defendant’s convictions because the trial court improperly excluded evidence that the victim may have engaged in sexual intercourse with her brother three days before the alleged assault. The evidence was relevant to an alternative source of the victim’s injuries, her credibility, and a possible motive for fabrication, and its probative value outweighed its prejudicial effect. The court declined to decide the defendant’s other evidentiary and jury-instruction claims because a new trial was required and those issues might arise differently on retrial.