Sexual Assault Posts

January 2019 Council Meeting Updates

At its meeting in Philadelphia on January 17 and 18, the ALI Council reviewed drafts for six projects. Drafts or portions of drafts for six projects received Council approval, subject to the meeting discussion and to the usual prerogative to make nonsubstantive editorial improvements.

The Chief Justice’s 2018 Year-End Report: The Federal Judiciary and #MeToo

Chief Justice John Roberts released his annual report on the federal judiciary today, focusing on the judiciary’s response to allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace. Roberts had discussed this issue in his 2017 report, after several female law clerks accused Judge Alex Kozinski – then a prominent judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit – of inappropriate sexual conduct.

New Rules Would Boost Rights of Those Accused of Campus Sexual Assaults

A piece for the Washington Post explores the new rules being prepared by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that the Education Department plans to formally propose in September. These new rules will include procedural changes that will strengthen protections for students accused of sexual assault and subsequently lighten the burden placed on schools and universities.

What the #MeToo Campaign Teaches About Stop and Frisk

“What the #Metoo Campaign Teaches About Stop and Frisk” applies feminist tools to investigate current policing methods. Feminist tools exposed sexual harassment by listening to the stories of those affected, by a nuanced understanding of power dynamics, and by recognizing that consent is impossible within certain unequal relationships.

A Broken System at Ohio State

Ohio State University has dissolved its sexual assault unit amid complaints that employees there told survivors they were lying about reports of sexual misconduct and that they suffered from mental illness or were “delusional.” The institution indicated, too, that the center failed to document and report sexual assaults in a timely way, despite university policy that dictates all employees do so.

January Council Meeting Updates

At its meeting in Philadelphia on January 18 and 19, the Council reviewed drafts for several projects, with the following outcomes:

Groping is a crime

Matt Damon, among other men, is concerned that we are treating all acts of sexual misconduct the same. “I do believe there’s a spectrum of behavior,” he explained to Rolling Stone, in an interview that drew considerable attention.

Defining Consent

In a recent Associated Press interview, NYU School of Law professor Erin E. Murphy brings attention to the complexity of sex assault laws and the definition of consent.

What it Means to Be “Reckless”

ALI’s Sexual Assault project will update the Sexual Offenses provisions in Article 213 of the 1962 Model Penal Code. The project will define and grade offenses based on the act—what a person does—and the person’s culpability or mental state. In order to understand the grading of offenses in the project, one must look at the 1962 Model Penal Code, Section 2.02: General Requirements of Culpability.