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9 Va. App. 176

385 S.E.2d 223

6 Va.LawRep. 676

Johnson v. Commonwealth

Court of Appeals of Virginia

Decided October 17, 1989

Court of Appeals of Virginia · decided 1989-10-17

Cited by 11 later decisions — most recently August 2002

2 federal appellate · 9 state decisions

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“evidence relevant to show that the complaining witness had a motive to fabricate the charge against the accused.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Johnson v. Huffman

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1989-10-17

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

*185Benton, J.,

¶1concurring and dissenting.

¶2I join in Parts I and II of the opinion. I also join in those portions of Part III holding that the trial judge erred in refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Code § 18.2-67.7(C). I dissent from the remainder of Part III because I believe that the trial judge erred in refusing to hold an evidentiary hearing regarding the allegations against the complaining witness H.

¶3The notice that Johnson filed pursuant to Code § 18.2-67.7(C) contains allegations of facts relating to H’s conduct and asserts that those facts are “relevant to show that the complaining witnesses . . . had a motive to fabricate the charges.” The majority apparently believes that because the record contains no representation that H threatened to fabricate the charges the trial judge did not err in refusing a hearing. A defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing to present “evidence relevant to show that the complaining witness had a motive to fabricate the charge.” Code § 18.2-67.7(B) (emphasis added). Code § 18.2-67.7 does not require proof of an actual threat to fabricate.

¶4Johnson’s notice alleges that, during a conversation with Johnson, H accused another adult male of making sexual advances to her. In addition, it alleges that Johnson learned that H was engaging in oral sex and confronted her. The allegations provide the foundation for a claim that H had a motive to fabricate charges against Johnson. The allegations might support an inference that H harbored animosity toward Johnson arising from his confrontation with her concerning her sexual conduct. Contrary to the assertions in the majority opinion, the allegations on their face establish a nexus between those acts and a motive for falsifying charges against Johnson. This is not simply a case where the defendant alleges he was aware of prior sexual misconduct, and that this knowledge, standing alone, provided a motive to fabricate. Here, Johnson was the family’s minister and had confronted H with her misconduct. It is reasonable to infer that H might fear that Johnson would inform her family, thus providing an incentive for H to make a pre-emptive strike by claiming that Johnson himself had engaged in sexual misconduct. The issue, however, is not which party is telling the truth; the issue is, instead, whether, based on the assertions contained in the notice, there was a need for an evidentiary hearing. In my opinion, Johnson was entitled to an opportunity to present evidence to a judge concerning the alie*186gations and to have that judge make a decision concerning the admissibility of that evidence based on the testimony presented. For these reasons, I would reverse all three cases and remand them to the circuit court for evidentiary hearings and for new trials.

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