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Criminal Law

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Golden Gate University School of Law

2010

Acquaintance rape

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Acquaintance Rape & The "Force" Element: When "No" Is Not Enough, Daphne Edwards Sep 2010

Acquaintance Rape & The "Force" Element: When "No" Is Not Enough, Daphne Edwards

Golden Gate University Law Review

This comment will show that courts have construed the "force" element to exclude a broad range of coercive conduct. This application perpetuates rape myths and enables assailants to use a broad range of force without the act being legally recognized as "rape." Part I explains the development of rape jurisprudence to illustrate how the law has evolved to emphasize the "force" element. Part II examines rape myths that affect the courts' application of the "force" element. The purpose of this section is to dispel the "violent stranger" rape myth and to illustrate that the most typical "force" used by perpetrators …


Tougher Prosecution When The Rapist Is Not A Stranger: Suggested Reform To The California Penal Code, Allison West Sep 2010

Tougher Prosecution When The Rapist Is Not A Stranger: Suggested Reform To The California Penal Code, Allison West

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article advocates changes to existing California statutes to better protect the rights of victims of nonstranger rape. As this article will show, the mere happenstance that a victim knows her rapist too often changes the dynamics of the prosecution and the perception of the victim. Section II of this Article discusses the differences between stranger and nonstranger rape, looking specifically at the psychological factors that distinguish the victims of each type of crime. Section II also focuses on the nonstranger rape victim's difficulty in reconciling that the randomness of the violence against her is absent compared to the victim …