Handout 1 - School of Government - University of North Carolina at ...

2. that respondent received mental health treatment and that while testifying he was weeping, crying,
confounded, agitated, stated he wished someone would take his life, and stated that he did not know
why he was present at the adjudicatory hearing.
3. that respondent threatened suicide after the petition was filed.
4. that respondent was mentally and emotionally unstable.
The court ordered respondent to have a psychological evaluation, suspended visitation until DSS had the
results of the evaluation, and authorized DSS then to determine what supervised visitation respondent
would have.
Held: Reversed and remanded.
1. Although appointment of a guardian ad litem for an adult parent under G.S. 7B-602 is in the court’s
discretion, given the evidence and findings relating to respondent’s condition, the trial court abused
its discretion by not conducting a hearing to determine whether a guardian ad litem for respondent
should be appointed pursuant to G.S. 1A-1, Rule 17.
2. The court erred in delegating to DSS decisions regarding respondent’s visitation rights.
Adjudicatory Evidence
• The rape shield law, G.S. 8C-1, Rule 412, can apply in civil cases to render most evidence of a
victim’s sexual history inadmissible.
• Evidence of a false allegation is not excluded by Rule 412, which addresses only sexual activity.
• Rule 12 does not preclude introduction of a victim’s inconsistent statements for impeachment.
In re K.W., ___ N.C. App. ___, 666 S.E.2d 490 (9/16/08).
http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/2008/080535-1.htm
Facts: The 13-year-old juvenile reported to a school counselor that her father had been raping her for the
past year. After the father violated a protection plan by returning to the home, DSS filed a petition and
obtained nonsecure custody. Based on the juvenile’s testimony and testimony by a doctor, the court
adjudicated the juvenile to be abused, neglected, and dependent. On appeal, respondent father argued that
the trial court erred by excluding from evidence a police report filed by the juvenile’s mother five years
earlier, which said “sexual assault,” and on which an officer had written that there was doubt as to
whether the juvenile was telling the truth. The report included no other information and had become
inactive. Respondent also asserted error based on the court’s exclusion from evidence of the juvenile’s
Myspace website, which included provocative pictures of the juvenile and indicated that she had “had
sex,” which contradicted her statements to police and her testimony.
Held: Affirmed.
1. Although G.S. 8C-1, Rule 412, is written with reference to criminal proceedings, it can be applied in
a civil case to exclude evidence of a victim’s sexual conduct that does not fall within an exception to
the rule.
2. The five-year-old police report did not involve sexual activity and should not have been excluded
based on Rule 412, which does not apply to false allegations. However, the report was properly
excluded because it had no probative value – it included no specific information, did not indicate the
nature of the alleged assault, and did not indicate who had doubt about the then 8-year-old child’s
veracity.
3. Evidence of the Myspace page should have been admitted for impeachment purposes, but not as
substantive evidence that someone else caused the physical trauma to the juvenile. Failure to allow it
into evidence was harmless, however, because respondent did not show that the outcome would have
been different if it had been admitted.
4. In addition to abuse, the evidence supported adjudications of neglect, because the home was an
injurious environment, and dependency, because the parents refused to abide by the safety plan.
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