The Middle East Does It Again: Court voids rape conviction because woman not married

Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: California appellate judges urged legislators to update an arcane 19th century law, as the panel reversed the rape conviction of a man who authorities say pretended to be a sleeping woman's boyfriend before initiating intercourse.

The Los Angeles-based appeals court said that the 1872 measure doesn't give single women the same protections as their married counterparts in certain rape cases.

Julio Morales had been convicted and sentenced to three years in state prison, found guilty of entering a woman's bedroom late one night once her boyfriend had gone home and initiating sexual intercourse while she was asleep, after a night of drinking.

But a panel of judges overturned the trial court's conviction and remanded it for retrial, in a decision posted this week.

The victim said her boyfriend was in the room when she fell asleep, and they'd decided against having sex that night because he didn't have a condom and he had to be somewhere early the next day.

Morales pretended to be her boyfriend in the darkened room, and it wasn't until a ray of light from outside the room flashed across his face that she realized he wasn't her boyfriend, according to prosecutors.

"Has the man committed rape? Because of historical anomalies in the law and the statutory definition of rape, the answer is no, even though, if the woman had been married and the man had impersonated her husband, the answer would be yes," Judge Thomas L. Willhite Jr. wrote in the court's decision.

The appeals court added that prosecutors argued two theories, and it was unclear if the jury convicted Morales because the defendant tricked the victim or because sex with a sleeping person is defined as rape by law.

The court said the case should be retried to ensure the jury's conviction is supported by the latter argument.

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Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: The decision also urges the Legislature to examine the law, which was first written in response to cases in England that concluded fraudulent impersonation to have sex wasn't rape because the victim would consent, even if they were being tricked into thinking the perpetrator was their husband.

Willhite noted that the law has been applied inconsistently over the years in California.

In 2010, a similar law in Idaho prevented an unmarried woman from pressing rape charges after being tricked into sex with a stranger by her then-boyfriend.

The judge called what happened "despicable" but said the state's law left the court with no choice. Idaho's law was amended to cover all women in 2011.

Prior to the conviction, Schulman had argued Morales believed the sex was consensual because the victim responded to his kisses and caresses, according to the decision.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/04/16347234-court-voids-rape-conviction-because-woman-not-married?lite
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Whimsical Fairy
Whimsical Fairy: I find it odd that she didn't know who she was "getting it on with" until a ray of light crossed his face. I think there is more to the story then what we are hearing.

I do agree though that this law needs to be taken off the books. Married or single, it shouldn't matter.
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R E B E C C A
R E B E C C A: the being married rule is a wee bit old fashioned. To me rape is when one party has made it clear that they don't want to....idk surely its up to her to know who shes giving the go ahead to? I just cant imagine how she couldnt know? like even if its dark your eyes adjust?
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Mask Of Dionysus
Mask Of Dionysus: um..........she would know by the insertion of his prick ffs
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R E B E C C A
R E B E C C A: TO KNOW WHO ........WHO being the Key word there Mask .....I'll leave that with you!
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: What a ridiculous and archaic concept.
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Comrade_
Comrade_: I take it that the law will be reviewed?
I read that in the new trial he will be charged based on having sex with a sleeping woman, in lieu of tricking her into believing he was her boyfriend.
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: I still don't get the reference to the Middle East...
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Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: 1) I wanted to see how many people would read the article
2) For people to be aware that the middle east isn't the only one with archaic laws towards women
3) If this was about the middle east people wouldn't be acting as objectively.
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Comrade_
Comrade_: You do have to keep in mind that when these laws were put into effect the time was one where sex kept within the marriage. The role of bf was that of a husband.

Think on this though: Was it really geared towards women or simply made at an age where the culture wasn't as it is today with 'bf'?

I do think there are many laws that need to be reviewed to apply to modern society. This is how it is done.
(Edited by Comrade_)
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Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: I am aware of all that.
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Comrade_
Comrade_: How can it be compared to the middle east? & Which law in the ME will you liken this to?


I'm not laying them side by side since it's different cultures, even the legal system of the West is different from that in the ME...but trying to understand your train of thought.
(Edited by Comrade_)
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Whimsical Fairy
Whimsical Fairy: The Middle East doesn't seem to protect woman at all from what I have seen, read and heard.

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Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: That it wasn't a serious title and a fairly jovial jibe at sensationalist forum topics that imply the country outside their own is barbarous. It doesn't require much thought outside of that.
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Comrade_
Comrade_: 3) If this was about the middle east people wouldn't be acting as objectively.

I meant.
One would be an old law that needed revising vs the other which will be a law wilfully 'against women'.

ah cool, I didn't pick up on the title, just read the article.
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Whimsical Fairy
Whimsical Fairy: Does this constitute as a Rick Roll

I didn't pick up on the title either, I read the article.
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: It is an archaic law for the US; however it is not out of the norm for the Middle East.
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