California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Salazar, B264957 (Cal. App. 2016):
Appellant argues that he was denied the constitutional right to present "a complete defense" but it is settled that the neutral application of state law evidentiary rules does not violate a defendant's right to present a defense. (People v. Fudge (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1075, 1102-1103.) We reject the argument that the exclusion of a victim's sexual history under the Rape Shield Law denies a defendant a fair trial. (People v. Mestas, supra, 217 Cal.App.4th at p. 1517.) "'That limited exclusion no more deprives a defendant of a fair trial than do the rules of evidence barring hearsay, opinion evidence, and privileged communications.' [Citation.] Therefore, because the trial court may properly exclude all such evidence without violating a defendant's fair trial rights, there is no merit in the argument that not admitting some of the evidence under Evidence Code section 782 deprives the defendant of a fair trial." (Ibid.)
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.