Understanding the Criminal Justice System
The Indiana Rules of Evidence include a rule that is designed to prevent defendants from introducing evidence of a person’s past sexual behavior in both criminal and civil cases. It is commonly known as the “Rape Shield Rule,” and Indiana’s rule closely tracks the language of a similar Federal Rule of Evidence.
The main purpose of the Rape Shield Rule is to keep the focus of sex crime and sexual misconduct trials on the particular actions of the defendant and the alleged victim that are the basis for the trial. That is because, for many years, the victim’s sexual history was frequently raised by defendants in an effort to convince the jury that, because the victim may have consented to sex in the past with others, the victim was likely to have consented to sex with the defendant in the case that was before the jury.
The Rape Shield Rule is based on the view that the victim’s prior sexual history is generally not considered relevant to allegations that the defendant committed a sex crime against a victim or to the defense that, in this particular case, the victim did not consent to the sexual contact.
The Rape Shield Rule includes exceptions that, in certain circumstances, allow information about the alleged victim’s sexual history to be introduced at trial. Both civil and criminal exceptions are part of the rule; this post will focus on the criminal exceptions.
One exception is when a defendant argues that someone else committed the sex crime against the victim. In that case, evidence of “specific instances” of the victim’s “sexual behavior” can be offered to prove that “someone other than the defendant was the source of semen, injury, or other physical evidence.”
Another exception is when the alleged victim and the defendant had engaged in consensual sexual contact in the past, and the defendant wants to use evidence of those “specific instances” of the victim’s sexual behavior to support the argument that the alleged victim consented to the sexual contact that is the focus of the trial.
The third exception is where excluding evidence of the alleged victim’s prior sexual behavior “would violate the victim’s constitutional rights.”
The defendant must make a motion to the court if they intend to try to introduce evidence under one of the Rape Shield Rule exceptions. Courts must then conduct a hearing in private (called an “in-camera” hearing) to determine whether the defendant’s intended use of the victim’s prior sexual behavior meets one of the limited exceptions to the Rape Shield Rule.
If you have been charged with a sex crime in Indiana, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to protect your rights and defend you against charges that, in some cases, could put you away for decades and require you to register as a sex offender once you are released. At Razumich & Associates, our attorneys have a strong understanding of Indiana’s criminal laws and court procedures. We know how to protect our clients’ rights, and we fight to defend our clients against serious criminal charges.
Call Razumich & Associates today at 317-983-5333 or fill out our contact form, and we will schedule a consultation. Tell us about your case, and we will tell you how we can help.
