State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent-Petitioner v. Angela Pulizzano, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The court held that excluding evidence of the child complainant’s prior sexual assault violated the defendant’s constitutional rights because the evidence was necessary to show an alternative source for the child’s sexual knowledge. It also held that the prosecutor’s closing argument suggesting that the defendant’s own childhood abuse made her more likely to commit the charged assaults was improper absent expert testimony. The court affirmed the court of appeals’ decision and remanded for a new trial.