Spence v. State
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for one count of incest, holding that the district court abused its discretion by permitting the State to use an expert to vouch for the credibility of the alleged victim, AS.
On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred by allowing AS's counselor to testify that the "underlying basis" of AS's PTSD was her "reported sexual abuse." The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the challenged testimony did more than "incidentally bolster" the credibility of AS; and (2) absent that testimony, there was a reasonable probability that Defendant would have enjoyed a more favorable verdict.
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.