CASE OF INTEREST

Date: February 23, 2006

Case: People v. Tamiko Carter Misdemeanor Trial Section

Contact: Supervising Deputy D.A.
             Paul Durenberger
             (916) 874-5235


Due to a court ruling by Judge Lloyd Phillips barring evidence of the meaning of a defendant’s words to an eleven year old girl, the District Attorney was regrettably forced to dismiss a child annoyance case today against Tamiko Carter.

The defendant was alleged to have approached an eleven year old girl on a south Sacramento street while she was walking to school. After slowing his vehicle, the thirty year old defendant asked the girl how old she was. When she replied that her age was eleven, he asked if she had a boyfriend, then told her he was fixing to do an “R. Kelly,” pulled his car to the curb and opened the door. The victim fled. The defendant was later arrested.

R. Kelly is a musician/singer known for having sex with underage girls. The prosecution was prepared to present testimony of the victim and an expert witness that the term “R. Kelly” has become a slang expression meaning to have sex with an underage girl. It is currently listed in the “Urban Dictionary” as a verb with that meaning. In spite of appellate court precedent permitting explanations of slang terms, Judge Lloyd Phillips barred the People from presenting evidence explaining the meaning of the term, and refused to allow the prosecutor to argue what the term meant. While the District Attorney is always concerned with protecting children from predators, this ruling made the case impossible to prove.