Goforth v. State

70 So. 3d 174 (2011)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
G
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Goforth v. State

Mississippi Supreme Court
70 So. 3d 174 (2011)

Facts

Amanda Goforth (defendant) was charged with sexual battery of a former student. A witness, Chase Rigdon, told the police that he had gone to Goforth’s house with the student victim. Rigdon also said that he had witnessed and participated in sexual acts with Goforth and the victim at the house. However, after Rigdon gave this statement, he was in a serious car accident that left him with significant memory issues. In particular, Rigdon had no memory of giving the statement to the police or any of the events described in the statement. At Goforth’s trial, the trial court ruled that Rigdon was available for cross-examination, and Rigdon’s prior statement to the police was introduced as evidence. Rigdon was placed on the witness stand for cross-examination about his police statement. However, Rigdon testified that he could not remember anything about the statement or the events described in the statement. Rigdon further testified that he recognized his signature on the statement but could only guess that he had actually provided the information above his signature. Goforth was convicted. Goforth appealed, arguing that Rigdon was not actually available for cross-examination and that his police statement should have been excluded.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Waller, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 812,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Evidence

Key Terms

Related Videos