State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Appellant v. James G. Budis, Defendant-Respondent

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the Appellate Division's reversal, holding that evidence of the victim's prior sexual abuse by her stepfather is admissible to show an alternative source of the child's sexual knowledge and that the trial court's exclusion of that evidence was not harmless. The Court remanded for a new trial with limited instruction on the purpose of the evidence. Justice O'Hern dissented, arguing the evidence was marginally relevant and the conviction should be reinstated.