United States v. Bear Stops
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
997 F.2d 451 (1993)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Kermit Oris Bear Stops (defendant) was charged with aggravated sexual abuse of P.M., the underage son of the woman with whom Bear Stops was in a relationship. At trial, the prosecution (plaintiff) introduced testimony that P.M. exhibited symptoms of a sexually abused child. The prosecution also admitted P.M.’s allegedly bloody underwear as evidence. The prosecution vaguely referenced a prior instance in which P.M. had been sexually assaulted by three older boys. No details were provided about this event. Bear Stops sought to admit additional specific and uncontroverted evidence of the sexual assault by the three older boys. Bear Stops had evidence that the incident occurred around the same time as the alleged assault by Bear Stops. The district court excluded Bear Stops’s evidence under Federal Rules of Evidence 403 and 412. Bear Stops was convicted, and he appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hansen, J.)
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