Berner v. State

OPINION

On August 20, 1985, eight-year-old Melissa told her stepmother that she had been sexually molested. She named Edward Doran Berner, the appellant, as her molester. Berner was subsequently arrested and tried before a jury. He was convicted of four counts of sexual assault of a minor and two counts of lewdness with a minor, and was sentenced to four consecutive life terms. For the reasons expressed in this opinion, the judgment is reversed and the case remanded for a new trial.

In our view, the court committed reversible error when it allowed a rebuttal witness for the prosecution to…