Roundtree v. United States

With due respect for Judge Steadman’s erudite opinion for the court, I am unable to join my colleagues’ disposition of this appeal. In my opinion, Roundtree did not receive a fair trial on the sodomy charge. I so conclude for two reasons. First, in spite of persuasive evidence that the complaining witness, W.D., fabricated claims of sexual abuse in the past, the trial judge precluded cross-examination of her with regard to these prior accusations. Second, the judge excluded, as “irrelevant,” proposed medical evidence about the existence of a “cheesy white extrudance” in the area of W.D.’s…