Attorneys for two men accused of raping LSU student Madison Brooks before she was fatally hit by a car asked a judge to require testimony from two witnesses who say she had sex the night before her death, arguing that their testimony would undermine the case against their clients.
But prosecutors argued the push violates rules for evidentiary disclosures in sexual assault cases that prevent the “reputation or opinion of the past sexual behavior of the victim” from being admissible.
The battle over evidence in the trial is happening largely behind closed doors. Rape shield laws prevent the public disclosure of a victim’s sexual history, prosecutors say.
Casen John Carver, 20, Desmond Carter, 20, and Kaivon Deondre Washington, 19, are each charged with first-degree aggravated rape and face mandatory life sentences if convicted of that offense. Everett Deonte Lee, 30, was booked on a count of simple third-degree rape, but state prosecutors have not filed charges against him.
According to authorities, Brooks left the now-closed Reggie’s bar with the four men following a night of drinking early in the morning of Jan. 15, 2023.
Sheriff’s deputies say Carver pulled into a residential driveway in the 900 block of Jennifer Jean Drive and parked there for 20 minutes. That’s where prosecutors allege Carter and Washington sexually assaulted Brooks in the back seat while Carver and Lee sat in the front.
Afterward, the men dropped off Brooks in the Pelican Lakes subdivision, deputies say. Minutes after she got out of the car, she was struck and killed by a passing vehicle being driven by a Lyft driver on Burbank Drive.
Attorneys for the three indicted defendants have argued the sex in Carver’s car was consensual. Prosecutors say Brooks was too intoxicated to give consent; a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Brooks’ father indicates the 19-year-old LSU sophomore consumed 24 shots and had a blood alcohol content of at least .282, more than three times the legal driving limit for adults.
What evidence is admissible?
Joe Long, Carver's attorney, successfully argued last year for the release of text messages and other data from Brooks’ cellphone from the 72 hours before her death. It was from those cell records that Long culled evidence that he said shows an LSU student had sex with Brooks the day before she died.
He argued the student's testimony refutes prosecutors’ assertions that Washington and Carter caused the sex-related injuries listed in Brooks’ autopsy report.
Long said he hasn’t been able to contact the man, who is referred to in court records by an alias. Defense attorneys deemed him a “hostile witness” and wanted Judge Gail Horne Ray to compel him to testify.
The March 11 motion stated the man's testimony "will gut the state’s theory of the case."
Long also petitioned for one of Brooks’ close friends to take the stand. That potential witness was also an LSU student and picked up Brooks from the man's apartment the morning after they had sex, according to the motion.
“The witness can testify to her and MB’s intimate conversation during their car ride, including MB’s admissions about sex with (him),” it said.
The District Attorney's Office has argued that it was improper for Long to even file the motion, saying it blasted Brooks' past sexual history into the public record. Copies were sent to local media and led to news coverage the same day.
Prosecutors said the evidence should have been submitted for the judge to review privately and determine if a closed hearing was warranted.
Ray sealed the motion one day after prosecutors filed their response.
A closed-door hearing
On Tuesday, Ray heard arguments in closed court. It is not clear if she accepted testimony from either of the LSU students.
Attorneys on both sides said a gag order prevented them from sharing much detail about the judge’s ruling or discussing what happened.
Following more than two hours of arguments, Carver emerged from the courtroom with Long, his lawyer, and shared an embrace with his parents, who sat outside waiting. Long gave the parents a thumbs up as they exited the courtroom.
Long did note that the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office intends to file a writ with the First Circuit Court of Appeal to challenge Judge Ray’s order.
District Attorney Hillar Moore said prosecutors are still awaiting an appeals court decision on a previous ruling Ray made in the case in May.
“The state will continue to seek appellate review of rulings by this court not in line with the law and evidence,” Moore said in a statement Tuesday. “The state and victim’s family want to move this matter forward to trial, however not at the expense of jeopardizing a trial that is fair.”