State of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee v. Levern A. Floody, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The court affirmed Floody's convictions for two counts of rape, holding that the indictment and bill of particulars adequately protected his ability to prepare a defense and avoid future prosecution. It upheld the admission of the child's out-of-court statements under the tender-years statute, the admission of related sexual-contact evidence, the rebuttal expert testimony, the supplemental jury definitions, and the statutory procedure for appointment of defense experts. Justice Henderson, joined by Justice Amundson, concurred in the result but would have found the expert testimony improper; Justice Sabers separately agreed that the excited-utterance ruling was erroneous but harmless and otherwise concurred.