Research Proposal on The Rape Shield Law Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

On The Rape protection Law - Research Proposal ExampleTo quote from Rudstein, are obstacles to convictions of rapists because juries presented with licence concerning a complainants past intimate history make use of such information to form a moral judgment of her reference and then are likely to be sympathetic to the assailant1. It also discourages delight victims from going to the police, for fear that their sleazy laundry may be washed for all the world to see. As a net impression of this, there would be low convictions for rape and objet darty rapists would not be made accountable for their crimes. This becomes oddly true when a majority of all rapes committed are acquaintance rape2, where in all likelihood the rapist would be able to present some form of evidence or information or so the versed past of the victim by virtue of having moved in the same circles. The first rape shield police in the get together States was passed in Michigan in 1974, and other states foll owed suit. It mainly arose from the lobbying of feminists who believed and in good orderly so that rape was a power issue and that the way it is being treated and dealt with in the courts of law reinforced the hierarchical gender relations. Allowing evidence of cozy history perpetuates stereotypes of women, e.g., women who slept around cannot be raped, women with a masses of partners must have asked for it, prostitutes can never secure a conviction for rape against a man who knowledgeablely abused her. In fact, there have been studies showing that there is a credibility chap3 between men and women in the court room. Haddad4 divided rape shield laws in the United States in roughly four categories. According to him These laws can be roughly divided into four categories, differentiable by the basis and form of their exceptions (1) legislated exceptions laws, which contain general prohibitions on evidence of prior sexual conduct, render to at least one legislated exception (2) constitutional catch-all laws, which, in addition to prohibiting evidence of prior sexual conduct, subject to at least one legislated exception, contain an explicit exception allowing the admission of any evidence that, if excluded, would infringe upon the rights guaranteed to a defendant by the federal Constitution (3) judicial discretion laws, which, instead of including legislated exceptions, solely grant to judges the broad discretion to admit or bar evidence of a cleaning ladys sexual history and (4) evidentiary purpose laws, which determine the admissibility of a womans sexual history based on the purpose for which the evidence is offered at trial. The issue of rape shield has gained contemporary platform once more in the case of Kobe Bryant, where the judge ruled that the victims sexual activity seventy two hours before she was subjected to medical examination in relation to the rape charge. umteen legal experts believed that this dealt a crushing blow to the prosecution of the case and led to the eventual dismissal of the charges against Kobe Bryant. B. bidding of thesis My thesis intends to explore the possible inconsistencies between the rape shield law and the right of the accuse to due process. The core of my argument is that the state policy to spare a survivor of rape from the calamity of being humiliated on the stand should not be held in higher regard than the right of an accused to be able to present all