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

Law Commons

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

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Stereotypes

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

She Acts Guilty: Sexually Charged Consciousness Of Guilt Evidence Should Be Excluded Because It Is Biased Against Women., Colin Caffrey Jan 2013

She Acts Guilty: Sexually Charged Consciousness Of Guilt Evidence Should Be Excluded Because It Is Biased Against Women., Colin Caffrey

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

A lawyer may submit sexually charged evidence under a consciousness of guilt theory. Utilizing this type of evidence convicts women based on their character, not for their alleged crimes, in criminal cases across America. Consciousness of guilt evidence holds bias because it exploits common gender stereotypes in order to obtain criminal convictions. Sexually charged evidence does not directly show a defendant’s guilt, but simply allows the jury to infer guilt based on a defendant’s conduct. Violating gender norms or reacting to the occurrence of a tragedy differently than one might normally expect is not an admission of guilt. Sexually charged …


Postpartum Psychosis: A Legitimate Defense For Negating Criminal Responsibility?, Sandy Meng Shan Liu Jan 2002

Postpartum Psychosis: A Legitimate Defense For Negating Criminal Responsibility?, Sandy Meng Shan Liu

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Infanticide is the most prevalent violent crime committed by women and has occurred throughout history for various reasons including sacrifice, birth control, eugenics, shame, and fear of punishment for adultery. Postpartum mood disorders have been recognized as a legitimate mental illness since the fourth century, and approximately fifty to eighty percent of new mothers experience some degree of depression after giving birth. Postpartum depression can progress into psychosis so quickly that new mothers may not even notice impairment of thinking skills. Defendants face many problems when using postpartum psychosis as a defense. One of the challenges of presenting postpartum psychosis …