A Louisiana appeals court barred defense attorneys from using Madison Brooks’ sexual history to fight rape charges.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police said Brooks, a 19-year-old Louisiana State University student, left Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland, with Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington, Desmond Carter, and Everett Lee early on January 15, 2023. The group drove to a parking lot, where Washington and Carter allegedly raped her in the backseat of Carver’s vehicle.
The men told police they later dropped Brooks off at a home in the Pelican Lakes subdivision. Minutes later, she wandered into the road, where a Lyft driver hit and killed her.
Police subsequently charged Washington, Carter, and Carver with rape. Prosecutors included Carver despite no evidence he had sex with Brooks.
Carver’s and Carter’s attorneys argued that new evidence, introduced a year after her death, showed she had consensual rough sex with another man the day before. They claimed her autopsy injuries came from that encounter, not the alleged rape.
In March 2024, District Attorney Hillar Moore said the motion violated the Louisiana Code of Evidence, which requires courts to keep a victim’s past sexual behavior in sealed documents, according to ABC 2.
In a 2-1 decision this week, the First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that defendants cannot use the sexual history as evidence.
“The fundamental right to present a defense does not require the trial court to admit irrelevant evidence or evidence with such little probative value that it is substantially outweighed by other legitimate considerations,” according to the ruling.
“One such consideration is the rape shield law. The trial court has not yet ruled on the admissibility of the expert opinion that injuries to M.B. may be ‘suspicious for sexual assault’ and thus whether the origin of the injuries may implicate (exceptions).”
The decision overturned District Judge Gail Horne Ray’s previous decision to make the “evidence admissible,” The Advocate reports. Ray is handling the rape cases of Casen Carver and Desmond Carter in the 19th Judicial District Court.
Judges Steven Miller and Hunter Greene supported the prosecution, while Judge Beth Wolfe opposed the ruling.
Following Brooks’ death, Reggie’s Bar lost its liquor license, while the bar owner was banned from serving alcohol in Louisiana. The agreement was made between bar owner Darin Adams and the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control attorneys.
The agreement was approved by Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Ernest Legier, who also shut the bar down indefinitely to the current owners.
A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Brooks’ father claimed she consumed 24 shots and had a blood alcohol level of at least 0.282, more than three times the legal driving limit for adults.
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[Feature Photo: Handout]