...Rape Shield Laws Name of Student Institutional Affiliation Rape Shield Laws Definition A rape shield law is a law that denies a defendant the ability to a cross-examine rape complainant or evidence about their conduct in sexual behavior in the past (Portlock, 2007). It may also be used to refer to a law that prohibits media sources from publishing the identity of an individual who is accused of rape. This law was established so that it could eliminate cases whereby an individual is tried using their clothing, sexual behavior or attitude showed in the past. However, the application of this law varies from one state to another. There some states that require that the rape complaint to have taken place with a specified time (Spohn & Horney, 2013). This difference results from the fact that states apply the ‘fresh complaint’ doctrine in different ways. A fresh complain is one in which the complainant reasonably, promptly and voluntarily makes the complaint once the sexual abuse has taken place. Why States have Enacted Rape Shield Laws Rape shield laws have been passed in most of the states so as to ensure that rape victims are protected from psychological and emotional trauma that could result from their narration of their sexual history while in the witness stand. There are several cases where rape victims have failed to report and pursue such charges due to their fear of humiliation. The rape...
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...InvolvedVolunteer for RAINN Student Activism Speakers Bureau Support RAINN Improve Public Policy RAINN Day DonateDonate Now Ways To Give Where Your Money Goes Raise Money for RAINN Shop Supporter Testimonials Refund Policy News RoomStatistics Multimedia News Press Releases Press Kit Speakers and Experts Newsletter About UsContact Us Leadership And Governance Local Affiliates Partners Prevention And Education Public Policy Victims Services Work at RAINN Intern at RAINN Mission Statement PolicyLaws In Your State Top Priorities in Congress RAINN Action Center Court Decisions Issue Backgrounders Capitol Hill Crime Fighters Federal Laws Home Confidentiality Laws N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8-53.12 Type of Privilege: Qualified by statute. Privilege: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 8-53.12(b) •No agent of a center shall be required to disclose any information which the agent acquired during the provision of services to a sexual assault victim or domestic violence victim and which information was necessary to enable the agent to render the services; •Does not apply when the victim waives the privilege conferred. •Privilege terminates upon the death of the victim. Statutory Exceptions to Privilege: •Mandatory reporting of abuse or neglect of a child or disabled...
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...is to reduce violent crimes. Violent crime is defined by the law as behaviors by persons against persons, or property that intentionally threatens, attempts or actually inflicts physical harm. The most common violent crimes are aggravated assault, arson, assault and battery, domestic violence, hate crimes, homicide, manslaughter, mayhem, murder, terrorism, and theft/larceny. Many states have created gun bans to try to reduce these violent crimes. Through statistics, reports, and studies, it has been confirmed that gun bans do not work. They are a flawed statute. It is a falsity to think that gun bans make a society more secure, which is what they were created to do. This can be proven by looking at cases,...
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...this time, the Brownwood Police Department does not utilize victimization data in any meaningful way. As law enforcement we must strive to gain understanding and the misunderstandings on the underlying causes of crime and the effects that these crimes have on victims. There have been several nongovernmental studies that have provided additional information in reference to rapes. Victimization surveys are one of the best tools to date in gathering data in reference to sexual assaults. These methodical techniques combined with sample size and enhanced detail collections are reasons that the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the “most comprehensive and systematic survey of victims in the United States”. While considering utilizing victimization data we must be mindful that there are misunderstandings that can occur when utilizing crime stats and how to overcome these challenges. There are common misunderstandings concerning crime statistics that can impede our ability to view the NCVS and other victimizations surveys. One misunderstanding includes that researchers can assume there is an objective definition of the crime of sexual assault and that statistics can assess this problem with distorting the issue. The nature of the crime can be defined in numerous ways without an accepted, objective, definition. The survey design can in itself alter and...
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...At 9:18 a.m. on March 2, 1998, petitioner called 911 to report that his stepdaughter, referred to here as L. H., had been raped. He told the 911 operator that L. H. had been in the garage while he readied his son for school. Upon hearing loud screaming, petitioner said, he ran outside and found L. H. in the side yard. Two neighborhood boys, petitioner told the operator, had dragged L. H. from the garage to the yard, pushed her down, and raped her. Petitioner claimed he saw one of the boys riding away on a blue 10-speed bicycle. When police arrived at petitioner’s home between 9:20 and 9:30 a.m., they found L. H. on her bed, wearing aT-shirt and wrapped in a bloody blanket. She was bleeding profusely from the vaginal area. Petitioner told police he had carried her from the yard to the bathtub and then to the bed. Consistent with this explanation, police found a thin line of blood drops in the garage on the way to the house and then up the stairs. Once in the bedroom, petitioner had used a basin of water and a cloth to wipe blood from the victim. This later prevented medical personnel from collecting a reliable DNA sample. L. H. was transported to the Children’s Hospital. An expert in pediatric forensic medicine testified that L. H.’s injuries were the most severe he had seen from a sexual assault in his four years of practice. A laceration to the left wall of the vagina had separated her cervix from the back of her vagina, causing her rectum to protrude into the vaginal...
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...readily available. They are published annually and they provide data on crime across the whole of the UK and also provide insight into regional differences in crime. This means that sociologists would be able to compare between different parts of the UK for example rural and urban areas. Positivist sociologists such as Functionalists are very supportive of the Official statistics; they see that this method of measuring crime is reliable, representative and valid. It also provides a true picture of the extent and nature of crime. However, this method does come with disadvantages. The official stats only records crime which are reported; meaning that they only reflect crimes known to the police which many sociologists would argue is unreliable. 19% of reported crimes are dismissed by forces across the country, with hundreds of rapes and violent offences wrongly recorded, with more than 200 rapes dismissed as ‘no crime’. This means that this method is...
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...The Bill of Rights plays a vital role in law enforcement’s role to complete their mission following all proper legal channels and provides officers with the knowledge to ensure they abide by the rights and freedoms provided by the United States Constitution. The Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBoR) provides officers with the same constitutional rights as the public and further protects officers against law suits and during exigent circumstances. The Bill of Rights was initially intended to restrict some activities of federal law enforcement and provide more activities for the state and local agencies (Ortmeier, 2006). Further, the LEOBoR protects officers from unreasonable persecution while conducting their duties and while acting in the specific scope of their responsibilities. Your Miranda rights, or if in the Military your Article 31 rights, are the rights provided to an individual who is in police custody and are read prior to questioning a possible subject/suspect before attempting to interrogate or interview with the intent of obtaining a confession/admission (Ortmeier, 2006). A subject may waive his legal rights, meaning they are willing to talk to you at that current time, or invoke their legal rights, where they are either requesting a lawyer or just do not want to be questioned. As officers, when a subject invokes we must allow them a reasonable time to seek legal counsel before they can be brought in and advised of their rights again. Understand...
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...over, youth crime is slowly decreasing. The discipline of the YCJA may need to become harsher. The YCJA has evolved from the harsh Young Offenders Act [YOA]. Stats on youth crime suggest that the YCJA is helping to reduce the amount of young offenders. Some cases suggest that the YCJA is not being tough enough with what young offenders are being sentenced with. The study of the human brain suggest that youths don’t understand the consequences of the crimes that they are committing resulting in the need for them to know the consequences. Through cases and the study of the human brain the YCJA needs some aspects changed for the better of society. The evolution of the YCJA has been formed from many different acts. Each act consists of similarities and differences between them. Different acts are formed over time to satisfy the needs of punishment as the world develops. The YCJA is the newest act which consist of similarities and differences of the YOA. The main difference of the YCJA and the YOA was the severity of the penalty for the crime committed. The YOA “was a highly controversial statute. While conservative politicians criticized the law for being ‘‘soft on youth crime,’’’ (Pulis). Since the YOA was soft on youth punishment, youths were not too concerned if they broke the law. Youths would break the law get a slap on the wrist and move on to committing more crimes. That is the main reason the YCJA was created. The YCJA was created “to reduce the use of courts...
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...ICTR's Akayesu Verdict SYNOPSIS The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) heard Jean-Paul Akayesu accused of vicious gang rapes and genocide that took the lives of 2,000 Tutsis. The trial court chamber of three judges, two men and one woman, had an unprecedented opportunity to clarify whether rape during internal armed conflict constitutes genocide as well as a crime against humanity. Nongovernmental organizations worked to "engender" the Tribunal while holding accountable the Hutu leaders who orchestrated genocide. The critical 1998 verdict influenced states negotiating improved standards for the prosecution of sexual violence and the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court. "Rape and Genocide in Rwanda" addresses current issues of international law, human rights, women in politics, African Studies, judicial procedure, legal and moral reasoning. RAPE and Genocide IN RWANDA: The ICTR’s Akayesu Verdict CASE OUTLINE I. An Unprecedented Opportunity Glossary and Map II. Prior Responses to Sexual Violence in War A. From “Time Immemorial” to 1948 B. From the 1949 Geneva Conventions to an International Criminal Court III. Genocide In Rwanda A. A Colonial Legacy of Ethnic Division B. Mass Killing, Rape and the 1994 U.N. Withdrawal IV. The U.N. Creates a Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda V. The Trial of Jean-Paul Akayesu Trial Chronology and Key Individuals VI. Issues for Judgment ...
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...It is many things to many people: a guilty pleasure, a shameful addiction, a stress relief, foreplay, an obscene creation or even a vulgar pastime. However, as time passes, pornography is becoming decreasingly taboo, and this could result in a significant impact on societal values and perceptions. Introduction: Questions and Objectives Long has there been war between those who are for pornography and those against it. Is pornography harmful or harmless? Just what are the effects of pornography on society? Is it just simply a harmless way to release pent-up lust or does it play a big role in shaping society? Could minutes of watching pornography a day affect society in a big way - say for instance, the rates of sexual crimes like rape, molest and sexual harassment? In this essay, we will attempt to prove that there is a strong and direct correlation between pornography and sexual crimes by critically examining the arguments provided before we draw a conclusion. Our hypothesis is that, indeed, increased pornography viewer-ship will cause a rise in sexual crimes. This is an easy conclusion to draw, as one would expect those who frequent pornography to be more sexually imaginative, active and accepting as compared to people who would normally not watch pornography. We are tackling this topic by firstly examining the research done and secondly comparing the various arguments as found through research. We will also compare two very different countries - Malaysia...
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...With or Without Abortion There are a few topics that are quite controversial in this decade. Whether abortion should be legal or not is one of them. There have been plenty of arguments involving this controversy. As for the legal aspect, there have been some court cases concerning abortion. One could have many reasons as to why abortion should be legal: a women’s freedom of her body, rape instances, and birth control failures are some of them. Pregnancies do occur even when women are taking precautions to ensure there are no mistakes. Using a birth control method is normal for a majority of women. There are IUD’s, pills, condoms, spermicides, diaphragm, cervical caps, and withdrawal. “The fact is that an overwhelming 53% of unplanned pregnancies occur in women who are using contraceptives” (Cornforth, 2009). Using IUD’s can have a two to four percent failure rate. If the IUD moves out of its place it will not function correctly. A woman should regularly check the string to confirm the IUD’s placement in the cervix. If using a diaphragm or cervical cap, the possibility of contraception is still at thirteen percent. It is quite easy for these to shift in their placement and therefore, producing less protection. The withdrawal method is used frequently, more in young adults. This reason is due to fact, of them either having a lack in education or they believe the false rumors they hear from their peers that pre-ejaculatory semen cannot impregnate them. Withdrawal can also fail...
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...Robin B. Arslanian Professor Long English 122 12 October 2011 How to Succeed in Becoming a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) The career as a Crime Scene Investigator, better known as CSI, can be very rewarding. To help catch the “bad guys”, to me, can be very satisfying. My goal is by the end of this paper you will learn how to become a CSI, the first steps to take once you get to a crime scene, what to expect in the courtroom and hopefully how much fun a career as a CSI can be. Being a CSI is definitely not for the faint at heart, some crime scenes can be gruesome. If you think being a CSI is like you watch on television you are sadly mistaken. Television glamorizes the long hours it takes to get DNA results or fingerprint identification. These types of results can take days to weeks. This can be very frustrating to the investigator who is being pressured by the prosecutors, the lead detective on the case and by the families for information. How you analyze the crime scene and what you find out in the lab can mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal. Your education is the most important quality and resource you can have in any career. However, for a CSI it is of utmost importance. You will need at the very least an Associate’s degree in either Criminal Justice with a forensics background, or better yet a Bachelor’s degree in Forensic Science. It is suggested that if you have a Bachelor’s degree you should go for your Masters; it will make you a...
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...time. Crime is a conduct or violation of the criminal to break the laws for which there is no acceptable justification or excuse. Society is often viewed by its criminal element and how the people deal with punishment and rehabilitation of the criminal. There are five goals of the criminal justice system deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation, restoration. In a CJi Interactive Multi-Media slide on University of Phoenix website it described, “These five criminal justice goals are not mutually exclusive. They are really rather like philosophical perspectives from which a community or agency responds to criminal behavior. (Interactive) The criminal justice system has three branches, those branches are police, courts and correction departments, each are an integral part of the American Justice System. The police work in an ever changing environment however in a report on the challenges of crime in a free society the police officers job was described as “the manner in which a policeman works is influenced by practical matters: the legal strength of the available evidence, the willingness of victims to press charges and of witnesses to testify, the temper of the community, the time and information at the policeman's disposal. Much is at stake in how the policeman exercises this discretion and if he judges conduct not suspicious enough to justify intervention, the chance to prevent a robbery, rape, or murder may be lost” (Justice, February 1967, p. 1). The court system...
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...women's movement emerged as a political force later than the black civil rights movement, but today it is equally well entrenched. Sexism is widely seen as racism's counterpart. It’s only natural to include gender prejudice under the hate crime umbrella, especially in light of the extent to which women as a group are victimized by men. Crimes against women would seem to be the most obvious candidate for recognition as hate crime. However, the intent of the person committing the crime would need to be known before it could be determined if a man commits a sexual crime against a woman. In 1994, women reported approximately 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults, almost 500,000 robberies and 3.8 million assaults. The perpetrator was male in the vast majority of these offenses it is undetermined if any of these were considered hate crimes. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322, Title XXVIII §280003a) defines a “hate crime” as one in “which the defendant intentionally selects a victim, or in the case of property crime, the property that is the object of the crime” motivated by prejudice based on the “race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or...
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...1 at $10,590. Shamefully, there are many American families who must survive on much less. Should this mean that these families are the number one suspects each time there is a crime committed in or around their communities? The connection between poverty and crime has been a controversial object of debate for years and continues to be today. There have been arguments by scholars for both sides of the spectrum. Some feel that those who fall victim of continuous hard times with little hope for help or change would eventually turn to a life of crime to obtain their necessities for survival. My own feelings are that although many were born and raised in poverty, they were reared with integrity and morals and may choose to live their lives as law-abiding citizens. Whatever essentials they can afford they would come by honestly and whatever they cannot afford, they accept living without. But what happens when victims of poverty become suspects of crimes and need court representation? According to the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the accused is guaranteed the right to a lawyer at all important stages of the criminal process. America has an adversary system of justice. A trial is a contest between the prosecutor, who represents the state, and the defense attorney, who represents the accused. The facts of the case or an appreciation of the truth at the heart of it arises from the combat between these two sides. The role of the judge is to oversee what happens,...
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