Darryl Galloway v. Commonwealth, KSC, 12-SC-701,
3/20/14, to be published- The Kentucky Supreme Court held there was
insufficient evidence to prove fourth degree assault third offense. The Court
held the statutory requirement that the two prior assault convictions be
against family members or members of an unmarried couple makes them essential
elements of that offense. Thus the testimony of the detective that Mr. Galloway
had two prior convictions for domestic violence was insufficient, and to
sustain a conviction the Commonwealth would have had to present “proof of the
identity of the victim and the nature of the relationship between the
perpetrator and the victim.”
James Rhorer represented Mr. Galloway at
trial and Kathleen Schmidt won the appeal.
Contributed by Susan Balliet
