State v. Wallace

Summary

The court clarified that capacity to consent under the applicable statutes depends on a person's present ability, at the time of the conduct, to exercise judgment about the significance of the sexual conduct, not merely to recognize that it is sexual or to lack any potential for future development. Viewing the evidence favorably to the state, the court held that a rational jury could find that the victim's intellectual disability prevented her from appraising the conduct and that the trial court properly denied the motion for judgment of acquittal. The court nevertheless ordered a new trial on one count because the conviction resulted from a nonunanimous verdict.