Should rapists have parental rights?
I just saw this article from the Courthouse News Service about the ugly fallout of the rape, and resulting pregnancy, of a 14-year-old girl. The 20-year-old rapist has been convicted and placed on probation for 16 years. He has also been ordered to admit paternity and to initiate proceedings in family court, apparently to set child support and maybe even visitation. The victim brought suit,...
Read MoreOregon’s age of consent needs to be changed.
Oregon’s sex-crime laws, which appear with other “person” crimes in Chapter 163 of the Oregon Revised Statutes are a bewildering mess. In addition to rape and sodomy (sex without consent) there is sexual abuse (sexual touching without consent) unlawful sexual penetration (just what it sounds like) child-pornography offenses, and contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor. Some of...
Read MoreGrey rape, and when no means no.
This issue seems to cycle in and out of the public consciousness, maybe in response to a stupid comment by a politician (remember Todd Akin?), or a heated debate between blogs as summarized in this Slate XX blog entry. Those debates, which I can remember having in a course on the philosophy of sex and love in college, only permit black-and-white answers like “no means no” when they aren’t...
Read More‘Victim’s rights’ should include the right to lenience.
Over the last twenty years, the ‘victim’s rights’ movement has fueled major changes in criminal law. Oregon victim’s-rights law permits a victim to attend judicial proceedings and to obtain information about the process. Further, as a practical matter, the prosecutor will typically consult with the victim about plea-bargaining, at least if the victim wants to be consulted. There’s a...
Read MoreIn Post-Conviction Relief appeal, Oregon Court of Appeals will consider actual-innocence claim
I represent in a post-conviction relief appeal a fellow who was convicted of sex offenses ten years ago. The victim of the offenses has since come forward to deny that my client committed the offenses; rather, she was persuaded to accuse my client by a relative who disliked my client. In the post-conviction trial court, the state moved to dismiss, arguing that post-conviction relief is not...
Read MoreNo ‘victim’ in rape trials?
A Georgia state legislator, Rep. Bobby Franklin, has introduced state legislation providing that the term ‘victim’ should not be used in rape prosecutions until after a conviction. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/georgia-republicans-bill-would-reclassify-rape-victims-as-accusers/. This is hardly a new fight. Criminal defense attorneys routinely argue that the term ‘victim’ is...
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