Vance v. State
Annotate this CaseAppellant David Vance was convicted of raping his fourteen-year-old daughter and was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment. On appeal, Appellant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to support the rape conviction and argued that the circuit court violated his Confrontation Clause rights by excluding evidence under the rape-shield statute involving an alleged relationship between Appellant's daughter and another girl. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) substantial evidence supported Appellant's rape conviction, and the circuit court did not err in denying Appellant's motion for directed verdict; and (2) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant's rape-shield motions as (i) Appellant's Confrontation Clause argument was not preserved for appellate review, and (ii) the question of whether Appellant's daughter and another girl displayed any sexual conduct toward one another was entirely collateral and was therefore not relevant.
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