the definitions of sex crimes as well as their names from “rape” to “sexual assault” and “aggravated sexual assault,” crimes which include all persons, whether male or female, adult or minor, single or married, as both offenders and victims.
Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) also have been added and amended to focus trials on relevant evidence instead of unwarranted attacks on the victim’s reputation. These are called “Rape Shield Laws,” and they are designed to prevent the defense lawyer from introducing irrelevant questions into the trial. In addition to FRE, states have their own rules of evidence to bring uniformity to the trial process. These rules govern the process by which attorneys introduce evidence or make objections to opposing counsel’s evidence. For example, is testimony on the victim’s provocative clothing really relevant to the issue of lack of consent to sexual intercourse? Does the victim need to show that she or he physically resisted the attack, as in the common law requirement? Even with these rules in place, occasional vestiges of the old system remain entrenched within certain laws.
Source: Estrich, S. (1987). Real rape (p. 8). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
To prepare for this assignment:
Review the assigned pages of Chapter 11 in your course text, Contemporary Criminal Law: Concepts, Cases, and Controversies. Focus on the elements of sexual assault and the criminal defenses for sexual assault.
Review the article