Idaho v. Roman-Lopez
Annotate this CaseGilberto Roman-Lopez was convicted by jury on two counts of sexual abuse of a child and three counts of lewd conduct with a minor. Roman-Lopez argued the Idaho Supreme Court should vacate his judgment and remand for a new trial based on two instances where he contended the district court improperly admitted hearsay evidence. As a preliminary matter, Roman-Lopez challenged the proper standard of review for hearsay rulings. From this, he argued the State would not be able to show that the errors were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, and that the cumulative effect of the errors deprived him of a fair trial. Apart from alleged errors at trial, Roman-Lopez maintained that remand was necessary because the district court did not redline portions of the presentence investigation report it allegedly accepted. Roman-Lopez’s appeal was initially heard by the Court of Appeals, which affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed Roman-Lopez’s judgment of conviction and declined to remand the matter to redline portions of the presentence investigation report.