State v. Aguilar, COA23-556, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Mar. 5, 2024)

In this Mecklenburg County case, defendant appealed his convictions for sexual battery, assault on a female, and false imprisonment, arguing error in allowing the State’s witness to vouch for the alleged victim’s credibility. The Court of Appeals agreed, ordering a new trial. 

In October of 2019, defendant allegedly assaulted the victim at a Mexican restaurant where they both worked. At trial, the State called the lead detective to testify regarding her investigation of the case. During direct examination, the State asked the detective if she questioned the validity of the victim’s story; defense counsel objected, but the trial court overruled the objection and allowed the questioning to proceed. The State asked the detective several more questions regarding the credibility of the victim’s statements, and defense counsel renewed their objection, which was again overruled. Defendant was subsequently convicted, and appealed. 

Taking up defendant’s argument, the Court of Appeals noted that “a detective or other law enforcement officer may testify as to why they made certain choices in the course of an investigation, including their basis for believing a particular witness[,]” but here “the challenged testimony was clearly unrelated to [the detective’s] investigatory decision-making.” Slip Op. at 8-9. The court pointed to State v. Taylor, 238 N.C. App. 159 (2014), and State v. Richardson, 346 N.C. 520 (1997), as examples of testimony related to investigatory decisions, and contrasted these with the current case. The State argued that Rule of Evidence 608(a) permitted bolstering the victim’s testimony, but the court rejected this argument, explaining that defendant’s cross-examination of the victim did not implicate Rule 608(a). The court concluded defendant was prejudiced by the admission of the detective’s testimony, and remanded for a new trial.