During a jury trial for sexual assault, defence counsel sought to use Sandro Boticelli's painting 'Calumny of Apelles' as a visual prop during his closing address to illustrate the theme of false accusation.
The trial judge ruled that the painting could not be used, finding that its depiction of women as symbolic representations of slander, ignorance, suspicion, fraud, and conspiracy risked resurrecting offensive myths and stereotypes about female complainants.
The court concluded that the potential for prejudice and distortion of the fact-finding process substantially outweighed any legitimate persuasive impact.
