rape shield law

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rape shield law, statute or court rule, introduced in the late 20th century, which limits the ability of the defendant’s counsel to introduce the accuser’s sexual history as evidence during a rape trial and therefore can prevent the accuser from being discredited by information that is not relevant to the defendant’s guilt or innocence.

The first rape shield law was passed in the U.S. state of Michigan in 1974, and within two decades almost every U.S. state had enacted one. Although the laws were popular in the United States, they also drew critics, who sometimes charged that the laws violated a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser. In the United States, some opponents claimed that such laws were too onerous for the defense and violated civil liberties, such as the freedom of speech.

In the early 1980s Canada also implemented a federal rape shield statute, although part of that law was struck down in 1991 because the justices found that mounting a defense was made too arduous. Revised legislation, subsequently passed and held constitutional, strictly limited when a victim’s past sexual history could be used as evidence for the defense.

Rape shield laws may apply to both federal and state criminal and civil rape cases except in limited circumstances, such as when the consent of the accuser can be shown or when there is a shared history between the accuser and the accused. The defense may also be required to prove that the exclusion of such evidence would violate the defendant’s constitutional rights.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeannette L. Nolen.