State v. Juan A. G.-P.

Summary

The court reversed the defendant’s convictions and ordered a new trial because the trial court improperly withheld psychiatric-record information relevant to the victims’ ability to perceive, recall, and relate events, and the resulting constitutional error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also held that the defendant was entitled to cross-examine the victims’ mothers about their U visa applications and directed trial courts to avoid a potentially misleading two-interpretation instruction. It strongly recommended separate-count instructions in cases involving multiple charges or victims.