Shinnock v. State

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of bestiality. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted evidence of his admissions of guilt, in violation of the corpus delicti rule. The Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that the State was required to prove penetration of the dog’s sex organ by a male sex organ before it could admit Defendant’s statement into evidence. The Supreme Court granted transfer, thus vacating the court of appeals opinion, holding that the State presented independent evidence that provided an inference that Defendant committed bestiality, and therefore, the trial court properly found that the corpus delicti rule was satisfied and admitted Defendant’s confessions into evidence. View "Shinnock v. State" on Justia Law