State v. Draper
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of intentional child abuse resulting in death and intentional child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. The Supreme Court reversed the convictions and remanded for a new trial, holding (1) the trial court erred by allowing a witness, Defendant’s wife, to testify in the presence of the jury, knowing she would invoke her Fifth Amendment Privilege against self-incrimination; (2) the trial court erred in allowing the State to treat the witness as a hostile witness and continue to ask leading questions even after she refused to testify; (3) the trial court erred when it failed to either admonish or instruct the jury not to draw an inference from the witness’s invocation of her right against self-incrimination; and (4) all of the errors, taken together, amounted to reversible error.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.