Should the word "RAPE" be allowed in court trial?

Question

She was RAPED yet the word rape and sexual assult has been band from the court room....

Read following link...


http://www.ketv.com/news/13657698/detail.html

Answer 1

Rape I understand, but sexual assault is the name of the crime, that's kind of important.

The word isn't allowed in court because we have due process and the word is too loaded to be used for an IMPARTIAL jury



edit: at everyone, they're not criminals, they're defendants. It could be you or me being tried at this point, noone has been convicted.

Edit edit: your responses to this question are EXACTLY why it's not allowed. You don't even know about the case and you're already making assumptions based on ONE WORD.


edit edit edit: I'd like to point out that in almost every state, the word rape is not even in the law. The crime is called sexual assault or sexual battery. Rape is a COMMON WORD that the crime is known by, but it is not even what the crime is officially called. So when you say "RAPE IS RAPE" it's really not, in the eyes of the law, anything at all.

edit edit edit edit: Ok, so I see there are 6 people on Y!A that actually understand law.

Florida sexual battery : Oral, anal or vaginal penetration against a person's will by union of a sexual organ or anal or vaginal penetration against a person's will by union of a foreign object.

Does it say rape in there? You prove those requirements and you have proven the crime, the word rape will just steel the jury against the defendant. What if you were wrongly accused of a crime and the jury got screamed at about how you are a dirty rapist? Would you feel it was fair then? Buzzwords stop people from thinking.

Answer 2

Well, here's the thing. You're accusing someone of rape or sexual assault. During the trial, I don't think you should say "I was raped." You should have to explain what happened. The judge and jury determine if it was rape.

If you allow the accuser to just say you were raped/assaulted, you're kind-of trying to prove something without actually proving it. For example, let's say I called something a square, and you said to prove it. I can't say "well, it's a square." I'd have to tell you it has 4 sides of equal length, and that all sides intersect @ right angles.

In court, just saying you were raped/assaulted seems like you're giving "expert testimony" on something where you're not an expert.

Banning the words altogher seems extreme, though

Answer 3

Im so confused so whats next?? Today she cant say she was raped tomorrow the words drive by wont be allowed in?? I think she has every right to tell the world what that sicko did to her RAPE IS RAPE no matter how the judge tries to sugar coat it. and why is this judge so concerned about how the defendant looks to the jury?? I personally would ask for a new judge this one sounds like hes a little to worried about the rapist!! and by the way theres a huge difference between a square and rape!! being raped DOES in fact make you an expert. just like being shot makes you an expert in that.

Answer 4

I would need much more deliberation to decide yay or nay on this question, but consider the following:

When men are labeled "accused rapists", they're generally crucified on the spot. Look at the national degredation of the Duke Lacrosse team by every African american and women's rights group you can think of. They received many death threats and violence threats as well. They were completely innocent.

When I hear "accused rapist" on the news, part of me assumes guilt. I have to chide myself and remember that they might not be guilty at all. Plenty of scheming women out there, too, folks...

Does the word "rape" belong in a court room? I can't say yes or no. I can say that it's a buzzword whose reaction I would have to suppress as a juror, but that's just me. "Sexual assault" indicates the nature of the crime, so it should be allowed.

Answer 5

The word rape should most definetly be allowed in the court room as a way to describe the events that took place.

Answer 6

This is disgusting! That judge should be disbarred. This is the problem with our justice system, some idiot who has enough money for a skeezy lawyer, commits a crime and doesn't want to pay for it. So the sleaze-ball lawyer gets some dimwitted judge to make a BS rule like that. She was raped, how else can you describe it? "He aggressively inserted his penis into her, against her will."
I hope the higher court reviews it and throws that rule out. Then they need to move the case to a new judge because that guy will then do anything he can to thwart the prosecution, since he would have been humiliated.

Answer 7

One in six women are raped (I happen to know at least 5 rape victims personally), the word should be allowed in court.

Answer 8

Yes they should most definitally be allowed in court if that is what the trial is about. Are they going to start banning words like murder too?

Answer 9

That is so lame. "Inflammatory statements"?? Invoking some emotion out of the jury in a sensitive case like this is necessary. Rape is an "inflammatory" act!

Answer 10

Too inflamatory for the jury. That doesn't show much faith in the intelligence of the jury if one work can sway them.