Piffer Thread on Political Rantings and Ravings Message Board

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Politics : Piffer Thread on Political Rantings and Ravings

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To: Augustus Gloop who wrote (11450)	8/7/2003 11:02:51 AM
From: Original Mad Dog	Read Replies (2) of 14610

The idea behind the rape shield law is twofold: (1) to protect the victim from embarrassment (which inevitably would inhibit victims from coming forward); and (2) to better find the truth based on the notion that evidence of past sexual behavior is not relevant to what happened in the present situation. There is a real fear that if you let that in, every defendant will try to paint the victim as a slut. But even victims who have been known to be a bit loose can nevertheless be victims of rape. You don't want a trial process that essentially makes it open season on anybody with a past. Colorado does have a procedure where you can petition the judge in exceptional cases to admit some prior behavior, such as (for example) a past history of false rape accusations. In the end, the victim gets up there under all that pressure and tells her version, the defendant (if he chooses to) gets up there and tells his version, the other witnesses to various aspects of the situation tell their tales, and the jury looks them all in the eye and decides who to believe. It will seem like a circus, but is there a better way?

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