Wilbert Harp, Appellant v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Appellee

Summary

The court held that the trial court reversibly erred by submitting seven identical sexual-abuse instructions that did not identify the conduct supporting each count, and that closing argument could not cure the defect. It therefore vacated the seven sexual-abuse convictions and remanded those offenses, while affirming the convictions for sodomy and indecent exposure because the remaining alleged errors either lacked merit or did not constitute palpable error. Justice Scott, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have found the instructional error harmless, while Justice Schroder, concurring in result only, would have held that the challenged testimony improperly vouched for the victim's credibility and should be excluded on retrial.