Virgil Dean Allen, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court affirmed the Court of Appeals, holding that the trial court properly excluded evidence of the prosecutrix's prior sexual activity for impeachment under V.T.C.A. Penal Code § 21.13 and that the statute is constitutional; the appellant's Sixth Amendment and Texas constitutional challenges were rejected. Justice Clinton dissented, arguing the statute limits impeachment to prior felony convictions, while Justices Teague and Miller concurred, the former emphasizing harmless error and the latter criticizing the use of the term "prosecutrix".