Rocky R. - Trial Victories - Gary Wenkle Smith, Attorney at Law

Rocky R., who had no criminal history, was accused of molesting his niece. She claimed it was by force. Her story was that he had offered to massage her legs, and during the massage, he forced his finger under her shorts, and into her, and kept it there for a period of time. Because such a charge is a "strike", and force was alleged, the bail was very high, and his family chose to spend their money on hiring a lawyer, rather than attempting to post bail. Added to the difficulty of the case was that the arresting detective swore that Rocky had admitted to the crime.

I visited with Rocky many times at the jail, and was convinced that what the girl claimed was physically impossible. She was a rather plump girl, and she liked to wear her shorts very tight, a fact that was admitted by her during cross-examination during trial. She was in her first year in high school at the time.

During cross-examination, she told me that her favorite class was drama. We discussed how much she loved to be on stage, and the attention she received. With all of that attention she was enjoying from the witness stand, she became willing to tell about how her uncle had been pretty strict about not allowing boys to come into her room while he was at home, and her mother was at work. That made her angry. We also discussed how tight she wore her shorts, and I asked her to explain to the jury how he got his huge hand between the skin and tight shorts. The jurors all looked over at his hands, which were folded on the counsel table.

On cross-examination, the detective admitted that for some reason his tape recorder didn't work while Rocky was confessing to the crime. He also did not tell the same story he had written in his report. When asked to explain the inconsistencies in his report versus his testimony, he could not.

The jury deliberated for about an hour, and came out into the hallway and congratulated Rocky's family, which is not proper protocol. Although I was worried that conduct might result in a mistrial, they had already acquitted Rocky, and my concerns were relieved shortly thereafter when they were brought into the courtroom, and the foreman cheerfully reported their not guilty verdicts.

Gary Wenkle Smith Attorney at Law
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Rocky R.
Rocky R., who had no criminal history, was accused of molesting his niece. She claimed it was by force. Her story was that he had offered to massage her legs, and during the massage, he forced his finger under her shorts, and into her, and kept it there for a period of time. Because such a charge is a "strike", and force was alleged, the bail was very high, and his family chose to spend their money on hiring a lawyer, rather than attempting to post bail. Added to the difficulty of the case was that the arresting detective swore that Rocky had admitted to the crime. I visited with Rocky many times at the jail, and was convinced that what the girl claimed was physically impossible. She was a rather plump girl, and she liked to wear her shorts very tight, a fact that was admitted by her during cross-examination during trial. She was in her first year in high school at the time. During cross-examination, she told me that her favorite class was drama. We discussed how much she loved to be on stage, and the attention she received. With all of that attention she was enjoying from the witness stand, she became willing to tell about how her uncle had been pretty strict about not allowing boys to come into her room while he was at home, and her mother was at work. That made her angry. We also discussed how tight she wore her shorts, and I asked her to explain to the jury how he got his huge hand between the skin and tight shorts. The jurors all looked over at his hands, which were folded on the counsel table. On cross-examination, the detective admitted that for some reason his tape recorder didn't work while Rocky was confessing to the crime. He also did not tell the same story he had written in his report. When asked to explain the inconsistencies in his report versus his testimony, he could not. The jury deliberated for about an hour, and came out into the hallway and congratulated Rocky's family, which is not proper protocol. Although I was worried that conduct might result in a mistrial, they had already acquitted Rocky, and my concerns were relieved shortly thereafter when they were brought into the courtroom, and the foreman cheerfully reported their not guilty verdicts.