State
v. Herndon
Court
of Appeals of
145
Wis.2d 91, 426 N.W.2d 347.
Dressler,
pp. 420-422
The
Sixth Amendment gives defendants the right to basically grill opposing
witnesses. We’ve decided to limit this
in rape cases with rape shield laws. You
can’t ask a rape complainant about their past sexual history. Basically, the idea is to prevent defendants
from harassing complainants which would deter them from reporting rape.
There
are four main approaches to rape shield laws:
The
1. To prevent
harassment of the victim by the defendant
2. To eliminate
evidence that is legally irrelevant
3. To eliminate
evidence that distracts the jury from the legal issues
4. To encourage
reporting by victims
The
The
federal approach – This approach has three key features:
1. A blanket
prohibition, like the
2. Exceptions for
“undeniably relevant” evidence
3. A catch-all
provision to selectively admit relevant evidence on a case-by-case basis
The
1. Evidence
offered to prove consent – it’s generally inadmissible except evidence of prior
consensual sexual activity between the victim and defendant
2. Evidence
offered to attack credibility – if it’s relevant, it’s in
Rape
shield laws strike a balance between defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights and victims’
rights.