Nicole Hansley, Defendant Below-Appellant v. State of Delaware, Plaintiff Below-Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Delaware reversed Hansley’s convictions and remanded for a new trial because the trial court improperly excluded testimony from a former police officer that Hansley was a cocaine-addicted prostitute. The testimony was relevant to Hansley’s defense that the heroin belonged to another person and that she lacked constructive possession or intent to deliver it, and the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court did not reach Hansley’s constitutional right-to-present-a-defense argument because the evidentiary ruling independently required reversal.