Commonwealth v. Noj

A jury found the defendant guilty of rape and unlawful possession of marijuana. On appeal, he argues that his rape conviction must be reversed because the trial judge prevented him from impeaching the victim with evidence that her prior convictions for prostitution provided a motive to fabricate the claim of rape. We affirm.

1. Background. The victim, Jane Doe, is a functionally illiterate client of the Department of Mental Retardation with an intelligence quota of 61 and an alcohol addiction. She drank up to a pint of vodka a day. At the time of trial in January, 2007, Doe was forty-five…