People v. LaRosa
2013 CO 2
| Colo. | 2013Background
- LaRosa confessed to sexual contact with his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to multiple people; no physical evidence or eyewitness testimony established the crime.
- Prosecution planned to corroborate confessions with medical records, daughter's statements, and logs, but presented neither at trial.
- Trial court denied LaRosa's corpus delicti motion; jury convicted on the confessed admissions and other circumstantial evidence.
- Court of Appeals reversed convictions under the corpus delicti rule, holding opportunity evidence was insufficient to prove the crimes occurred.
- Colorado Supreme Court held the corpus delicti rule should be abandoned in favor of the trustworthiness standard, but refused retroactive application due to lack of fair warning, affirming the Court of Appeals' reversal and remanding for acquittal.
- Dissent argues the corpus delicti rule remains valid and would reinstate the convictions under the substantial evidence standard.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether corpus delicti should be abandoned | People argue for trustworthiness standard replacing corpus delicti | LaRosa urges retention of corpus delicti | Not applied due to lack of fair warning; uphold reversal |
| Whether the trustworthiness standard can be retroactively applied here | People seek retroactive trustworthiness standard | LaRosa claims due process warning requirement is breached | Ex post facto not applicable; due process fair warning requires reversal |
| Relation to sufficiency of the evidence and admissibility | Bennett sufficiency would not require corroboration | Trustworthiness more protective against false confessions | Court adopts trustworthiness framework but cannot apply here; sustains reversal |
Key Cases Cited
- Opper v. United States, 348 U.S. 84 (U.S. 1954) (trustworthiness requires independent corroboration to show reliability)
- Smith v. United States, 348 U.S. 147 (U.S. 1954) (confession corroboration can establish offense through statements)
- Calderon v. United States, 348 U.S. 160 (U.S. 1954) (trustworthiness standard underpins corroboration doctrine)
- Rogers v. Tennessee, 532 U.S. 451 (U.S. 2001) (judicial ex post facto applies to fair warning rather than legislative action)
- People v. Bennett, 183 Colo. 125 ( Colo. 1973) (substantial evidence standard governs sufficiency to convict)