Garnett v. State
Maryland Court of Appeals
332 Md. 571, 632 A.2d 797 (1993)
- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
Raymond Lennard Garnett (defendant) was mentally handicapped. At the age of 20, when the events in question occurred, his social development mirrored that of an 11- or 12-year-old. Garnett was introduced to a 13-year-old girl named Erica Frazier in late 1990. On February 28, 1991, Frazier invited Garnett into her bedroom, and they engaged in sexual intercourse. Maryland had in effect a statutory-rape law that defined second-degree rape as sexual intercourse between a victim under 14 and one who was four years or more older than the victim. The law also defined second-degree rape as sexual intercourse obtained by force and sexual intercourse between a victim who was mentally handicapped, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless and one who knew or should know about the victim’s condition. The penalty for second-degree rape in Maryland was imprisonment for up to 20 years.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Murphy, C.J.)
Dissent (Eldridge, J.)
Dissent (Bell, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 833,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
