People v. Hernandez
California Court of Appeal
200 Cal. App. 4th 1000 (2011)
- Written by Sara Adams, JD
Facts
A.B. attended a party at her godmother’s house, which Ramon Hernandez (defendant) also attended. At the end of the party, A.B., her godmother, and Hernandez remained at the house and continued to drink. A.B. and Hernandez decided to sleep over at the house because they had been drinking heavily. A.B. slept in her godmother’s bedroom, Hernandez in the living room. Next morning, A.B. made observations that led her to believe she had been sexually assaulted. A.B. told her best friend, Hernandez’s sister, that she believed she had been raped by Hernandez but was unable to remember. A hospital examination of A.B. showed indications of nonconsensual sex. Hernandez was questioned by police and eventually admitted in a recorded interview that A.B. was “out cold” during the sexual encounter, that she did not consent to having sex with him, and that she did not speak and barely moved during the encounter. Hernandez also admitted he was aware that A.B. did not want to have sex with him. At trial, Hernandez testified that the sex was consensual and that he was confused during his police interview because he did not speak English well. Hernandez’s sister testified that two days after the party, A.B. told her that she remembered consenting to the sexual encounter with Hernandez. The jury convicted Hernandez of rape. Hernandez appealed, arguing that the jury had insufficient evidence to find that A.B. was not conscious of the sexual act or that Hernandez knew that she was unconscious of the sexual act.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Yegan, J.)
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