Ricketts v. Delaware

Darrell Ricketts (defendant) was indicted for first-degree rape of his girlfriend's five-year-old daughter. At trial, the State of Delaware (plaintiff) called the child, then six, to testify, first conducting voir dire in which she said she understood what a lie was, that lying could get her spanked, that lying was bad, and she promised to tell the truth. The trial court found she didn't understand what perjury meant but allowed her to testify anyway because she met the basic truth/falsehood competency test. Ricketts was convicted and appealed, arguing the child was not a competent witness under the Delaware Rules of Evidence.