A Louisiana appeals court barred defense attorneys from using Madison Brooks’ sexual history to fight rape charges.

Brooks, a Louisiana State University student, left Reggie’s Bar with a group including Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington, Desmond Carter, and Everett Lee on January 15, 2023. Washington and Carter were accused of raping her in the backseat of a car after leaving the bar.

After the incident, the group dropped Brooks off at a residence in the Pelican Lakes area. Shortly after, she was hit and killed by a Lyft driver as she walked into the road.

Police subsequently charged Washington, Carter, and Carver with rape. Prosecutors included Carver despite no evidence he had sex with Brooks.

Carver’s and Carter’s legal representatives claimed that new evidence, presented a year after the incident, suggested that Brooks had engaged in consensual rough sexual activity with another individual the day before her death. They argued that the injuries observed in her autopsy were a result of this encounter, not the alleged rape.

In March 2024, District Attorney Hillar Moore said the motion violated the Louisiana Code of Evidence, which requires courts to keep a victim’s past sexual behavior in sealed documents, according to ABC 2.

In a 2-1 decision this week, the First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that defendants cannot use the sexual history as evidence.

“The fundamental right to present a defense does not require the trial court to admit irrelevant evidence or evidence with such little probative value that it is substantially outweighed by other legitimate considerations,” according to the ruling.

“One such consideration is the rape shield law. The trial court has not yet ruled on the admissibility of the expert opinion that injuries to M.B. may be ‘suspicious for sexual assault’ and thus whether the origin of the injuries may implicate (exceptions).”

The decision overturned District Judge Gail Horne Ray’s previous decision to make the “evidence admissible,” The Advocate reports. Ray is handling the rape cases of Casen Carver and Desmond Carter in the 19th Judicial District Court.

Judges Steven Miller and Hunter Greene supported the prosecution, while Judge Beth Wolfe opposed the ruling.

Following Brooks’ death,  Reggie’s Bar lost its liquor license, while the bar owner was banned from serving alcohol in Louisiana. The agreement was made between bar owner Darin Adams and the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control attorneys.

The agreement was approved by Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Ernest Legier, who also shut the bar down indefinitely to the current owners.

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Brooks’ father claimed she consumed 24 shots and had a blood alcohol level of at least 0.282, more than three times the legal driving limit for adults.

[Feature Photo: Handout]