Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

State and Local Government Law

Journal

1992

St. Mary's Law Journal

Shields v. State

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Peremptory Jury Strike In Texas After Batson And Edmondson., Alan B. Rich Jan 1992

Peremptory Jury Strike In Texas After Batson And Edmondson., Alan B. Rich

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Batson v. Kentucky, the United States Supreme Court overruled that portion of Swain v. Alabama, which had imposed a “crippling burden of proof” upon a person who wished to vindicate his right of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment in the face of a racially motivated peremptory challenge. Under Batson, a defendant can raise an inference of discrimination and prove it using only evidence adduced at his own trial. Two fundamental questions needing resolution prior to involving the Batson procedures are: (A) who has standing to bring a Batson challenge; and (B) who must be challenged before the Batson …


Admissibility Of A Rape Victim's Prior Sexual Conduct In Texas: A Contemporary Review And Analysis., James A. Vaught, Margaret Henning Jan 1992

Admissibility Of A Rape Victim's Prior Sexual Conduct In Texas: A Contemporary Review And Analysis., James A. Vaught, Margaret Henning

St. Mary's Law Journal

The treatment of rape victims in criminal prosecutions has become and remains a matter of intense public and legal interest in America. The conventional use of evidence of a rape complainant's prior sexual history in rape prosecutions was a major focus of the rape reform movement. A major consequence of the movement for reform is the federal government and forty-nine states enacting rape shield laws limiting the admissibility of evidence concerning the complainant’s sexual history in rape prosecution. This article analyzes the admissibility of evidence of a rape complainant’s prior sexual conduct from its common law origins concentrating on the …