Mares v. Territory of New Mexico

Citations

• 10 N.M. 770
• 10 Gild. 770

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Criminal Law — Rape—Proof Required — Necessity of Corroboration. — On the trial of an indictment for rape where the accused testifies in his own behalf and denies the accusation there must be some corroborating evidence or circumstance however slight, or a reasonable probability of the truth of the assault to justify a conviction.</p> <p>2. Rape — Character of Resistance Required. — -There must be a resistance on the part of the prosecutrix and it must be forcibly overcome by the defendant; there must be the utmost reluctance and the utmost resistance; the resistance must be up to the point of being overpowered by actual force.</p> <p>3. Rape — Disclosure When Not a Corroborating Circumstance.— A disclosure of the assault for the first time by the prosecutrix four 'months after its occurrence has no value whatever as a corroborating circumstance.</p>