Section 3-319 - Rape and sexual offense- Admissibility of evidence.
§ 3-319. Rape and sexual offense - Admissibility of evidence.
(a) Reputation and opinion evidence inadmissible.- Evidence relating to a victim's reputation for chastity or abstinence and opinion evidence relating to a victim's chastity or abstinence may not be admitted in a prosecution for:
(1) a crime specified under this subtitle or a lesser included crime;
(2) the sexual abuse of a minor under § 3-602 of this title or a lesser included crime; or
(3) the sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult under § 3-604 of this title or a lesser included crime.
(b) Specific instance evidence admissibility requirements.- Evidence of a specific instance of a victim's prior sexual conduct may be admitted in a prosecution described in subsection (a) of this section only if the judge finds that:
(1) the evidence is relevant;
(2) the evidence is material to a fact in issue in the case;
(3) the inflammatory or prejudicial nature of the evidence does not outweigh its probative value; and
(4) the evidence:
(i) is of the victim's past sexual conduct with the defendant;
(ii) is of a specific instance of sexual activity showing the source or origin of semen, pregnancy, disease, or trauma;
(iii) supports a claim that the victim has an ulterior motive to accuse the defendant of the crime; or
(iv) is offered for impeachment after the prosecutor has put the victim's prior sexual conduct in issue.
(c) Closed hearing.-
(1) Evidence described in subsection (a) or (b) of this section may not be referred to in a statement to a jury or introduced in a trial unless the court has first held a closed hearing and determined that the evidence is admissible.
(2) The court may reconsider a ruling excluding the evidence and hold an additional closed hearing if new information is discovered during the course of the trial that may make the evidence admissible.
[An. Code 1957, art. 27, § 461A; 2002, ch. 26, § 2; ch. 266, § 1; ch. 278, § 1; 2003, ch. 89.]