Barker v. Commonwealth

In a jury trial, Michael Wayne Barker was found guilty of rape, sodomy, and malicious wounding for which he received penitentiary sentences totalling 90 years. His appeal presents issues respecting sufficiency of the evidence, juror qualification, cross-examination of the prosecutrix, pretrial discovery, and jury instructions.

Pursuant to established law, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth. On June 6, 1983, between 8:00 and 9:30 p.m., Peggy Forbes, the prosecutrix, was alone in her apartment in Albemarle County. She was dressed in a “blue robe and a…