In a “He Said, She Said” Case, Can a Jury Convict in Minnesota?

“But it’s her word against mine!” “How can they possibly believe what he said. There is absolutely no proof?” “There is no way a jury can convict on just her word.” These are all statements made by people who were subsequently charged with both sex crimes and domestic assault cases over the years. The problem is that they were all wrong.

Believe it or not, people in Minnesota have absolutely been charged and even convicted simply because of the statement of an accuser, frequently called a complaining witness. This can happen even if there is no corroborating evidence to support the person’s claim. If you are facing serious criminal charges in Minnesota, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Who has the Burden of Proof?

In criminal cases in Minnesota, it is the prosecutor who has the burden of proof. They are required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the alleged crime was committed. As a result, if the prosecutor fails in their burden, a jury must return with a NOT GUILTY verdict.

Because the burden of proof is on the prosecutor, they are obligated to present all of the evidence to support their claim. In a “He Said, She Said” circumstance, the only evidence the state may have is the statement from the accuser. That being said, what they really want is corroborating evidence. Corroborating evidence is evidence beyond that statement to support the person’s claim. What happens if they don’t have anything else? Well, they will try to present other stuff that may convince a jury to convict.

What Other “Evidence” Will the State Try to Use in “He Said, She Said” Cases?

If the state doesn’t have additional evidence from the event, they will frequently try to introduce other evidence to sway a jury or just to make the Defendant look bad with the logic being that somebody like this would be more likely to commit this kind of a crime. Examples include

• unsubstantiated prior bad acts. In other words, the accuser will add, “he did this before” without any proof whatsoever that he did;;

• prior convictions, which may have nothing to do with this case;

• In sex crimes, so-called rape kits will likely be introduced even if they collected no evidence. This is done because the process is terrible and could move a jury.

• In child sex crimes cases, the taped interview with MCRC in St. Paul which may just repeat the “He Said, She Said.” This allows the prosecution a controlled environment and multiple times to let a jury hear allegations and the tapes, lighting and environment themselves almost always look terrible..

What Can a Good Defense Attorney Do?

In both domestic assault cases and sex crime cases, the only evidence the state really may have is the statements themselves. In other words, the statement is unsubstantiated. A good criminal defense attorney will use this very fact to their client’s benefit. Examples include:

• lack of witnesses present during the event;

• lack of injuries from the event;

• lack of evidence in any medical reports;

• lack of audio and video from the event.

An experienced defense attorney has to be able to hammer these points home to the jury. The burden is on the state and this is all they have. Make sure the Jury’s attention doesn’t get diverted because this “evidence” is nothing more than a regurgitation of the original statement. Then go after what the state does have.

Going on the Offensive

A good defense attorney shouldn’t stop there. They need to go on the offensive. Simply put, it is about more than just the prosecutor failing to have anything else. It is about why the evidence they did have was actually wrong. Examples include:

• Inconsistencies in the police reports;

• Bias in the reports;

• Bias in any taped interviews;

• Inconsistencies in the statements taken compared to the evidence presented to the jury;

• Motive to give false statements.

Of course, this doesn’t even include other witnesses and evidence that the Defense may be able to present. We will address this part in another article.

Go with the Best

If you are facing serious criminal charges in Minnesota that have a strong he said, she said component, make sure you sit down with an experienced criminal defense attorney. It is not just about what is there but also what isn’t there.

Jack Rice is an award winning criminal defense attorney based in St. Paul Minnesota. He is a former prosecutor, a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist, a former U.S. Federal Agent and the Founder of Jack Rice Defense. Contact Jack Rice Defense for a free confidential consultation or call 651-447-7650 or 612-227-1339.