Redmond v. Kingston
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
240 F.3d 590 (2001)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Wisconsin (plaintiff) prosecuted Redmond (defendant), a drug counselor, for the statutory rape of Heather, a minor whom Redmond counseled and to whom he allegedly gave cocaine in return for sex. The state's case against Redmond relied almost solely on Heather's testimony. Eleven months before the incident in question, Heather falsely informed her mother and police that she was forcibly raped by a stranger. In truth, she consented to sex with the stranger. At trial, Redmond proffered evidence of the false report to show Heather sought attention and thus had a motive for falsely accusing Redmond. The judge rejected the proffer, ruling that evidence of the false report: (1) was merely cumulative of other evidence bearing on Heather's credibility, (2) was of a prejudicial nature that outweighed its probative value, (3) would confuse the jury, and (4) involved charges of forcible sex, which was not an element of the crime of statutory rape. Redmond appealed his conviction in state court, naming warden Kingston as respondent, and his appeal reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Posner, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 804,000 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.
