State v. Robintree

The Court "must affirm a defendant's conviction despite evidentiary error if there is little likelihood that the particular error affected the verdict." State v. Jones, 274 Or App 723, 728, 362 P3d 899 (2015).

Defendant appealed a conviction for one count of first degree sexual abuse, ORS 163.427.  Defendant assigned error to the trial court's denying him the opportunity to cross-examine the victim about her separate juvenile delinquency proceedings to show victim's potential bias to aid the State's prosecution. In response, the State conceded that the trial court erred in preventing Defendant from questioning victim about her juvenile delinquency charges. The Court "must affirm a defendant's conviction despite evidentiary error if there is little likelihood that the particular error affected the verdict." State v. Jones, 274 Or App 723, 728, 362 P3d 899 (2015).  The Court found it was unlikely that the trial court's error affected the verdict because the victim gave detailed, consistent recorded statements regarding Defendant's conduct prior to the initiation of her separate, unrelated juvenile charges, when victim had no motive to seek favor from the state. Additionally, because Defendant admitted to inappropriately touching her and did not argue that the victim lied in her statements, it is unlikely that the exclusion of evidence of the victim's potential bias "denied[d] the jury an adequate opportunity to assess the credibility of a witness whose credibility is important to the outcome of the trial." State v. Hubbard, 297 Or 789 at 800, 688 P2d 1311 (1984). AFFIRMED.