Holley v. Yarborough, No. 08-15104

In a habeas matter involving a prosecution for lewd and lascivious acts on a child, the denial of the petition is reversed where the trial court erred in prohibiting Petitioner from introducing evidence that the victim had made prior claims of her own sexual appeal, because such evidence was clearly relevant to impeach the victim.

Read the full decision in Holley v. Yarborough, No. 08-15104.

Appellate Information:

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. Ralph R. Beistline, District Judge, Presiding.
Argued and Submitted April 13, 2009 - San Francisco, California
Filed June 16, 2009

Judges:

Before Thomas G. Nelson, Andrew J. Kleinfeld and Milan D. Smith, Jr., Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Milan D. Smith, Jr.

Counsel:

Suzanne Adele Luban, Oakland, California, for the petitioner-appellant.

Edmund G. Brown Jr., Dane R. Gillette, Michael P. Farrell, Brian G. Smiley, and Tami M. Warwick, Office of the California Attorney General, Sacramento, California, for the respondent-appellee.