Cite as: 529 U. S. 513 (2000)
Ginsburg, J., dissenting
(N. D. 1989) ("The purpose of corroborating evidence is to show that accomplices are reliable witnesses and worthy of credit."); Holladay v. State, 709 S. W. 2d 194, 196 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986) ("Because such a witness [i. e., an accomplice] is usually deemed to be corrupt, his testimony is always looked upon with suspicion."); Fleming v. State, 760 P. 2d 208, 209- 210 (Okla. Crim. App. 1988) ("The purpose behind the requirement of corroboration is to protect an accused from being falsely implicated by another criminal in the hope of clemency, a desire for revenge, or for any other reason.").
I make no judgment here as to the propriety of the Texas Legislature's decision to view the testimony of certain sexual assault victims in the same light as that of accomplices. Ex post facto analysis does not depend on an assessment of a statute's wisdom. For current purposes it suffices to note that Article 38.07's corroboration requirement rests on the same rationale that underpins accomplice corroboration requirements: the notion that a particular witness, because of his or her role in the events at issue, might not give trustworthy testimony. See Reed v. State, 991 S. W. 2d 354, 361 (Tex. App. 1999) ("Generally speaking, the need to corroborate the testimony of a sexual assault victim stems from the notion that the victim, if over the age of consent, could be an accomplice rather than a victim."); Hernandez v. State, 651 S. W. 2d 746, 751 (Tex. Crim. App. 1983) (concurring opinion adopted on rehearing) (Article 38.07's corroboration requirement "was meant to deal only with testimony of a victim of a sexual offense who, for one reason or another, was held to be an 'accomplice witness' and, perforce, whose testimony must be corroborated.").
The history of Article 38.07 bears out the view that its focus has always been on the competency and credibility of the victim as witness. The origins of the statute could be traced to the fact that in Texas, "for many years a seduced female was an incompetent witness as a matter of law." Holladay, 709 S. W. 2d, at 200. See, e. g., Cole v. State, 40
557
Page: Index Previous 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007