Courts would screen claims of past false sexual misconduct accusations

Defendants would give prosecutors reasonable notice and ask a judge to admit evidence of an earlier false accusation. This applies to trials for rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual penetration, or unlawful sexual contact. The request must describe the evidence and explain how it bears on the accuser's honesty or reliability. The judge would hear the request outside the jury's presence.

Judges would reject requests that fail the initial evidence test and could question the accuser outside the jury's presence when that test is met. The test applies when a defendant in a listed sexual offense trial seeks to use an accuser's earlier alleged false accusation to challenge the accuser's honesty or reliability. The defense must offer credible evidence pointing to a reasonable chance that the earlier accusation was false in an important way. The accuser must have known it was false, or the circumstances must be likely to affect the accuser's reliability in this case. A prior accusation going unprosecuted is not enough by itself. If clear and convincing evidence shows a relevant false accusation, the judge must admit it without questioning the accuser outside the jury's presence, if other evidence rules allow it.

Defendants could offer proof from other sources in limited circumstances, and judges would decide whether to admit it. This covers proof of an accuser's earlier false sexual misconduct accusation in trials for the listed sexual offenses. The accuser must either not testify or testify and deny making the earlier accusation or deny that it was false. The proof must be clear and convincing enough to avoid undue confusion. Evidence must matter to an issue in the case, and its risk of inflammatory or unfair harm must not outweigh its value. The judge would rule when the accuser's trial testimony, or absence of testimony, gives the defense a basis to request admission.