News Articles
Calif. court overturned rape conviction; now Rep. Jimmy Gomez promises to update the law (poll)
Newly sworn-in State Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D -Los Angeles) has pledged to introduce legislation that would alter what he called an "unfair" loophole in California's rape laws.
On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals for the Second District of California reluctantly overturned an L.A. man's rape conviction after it determined that posing as a woman's boyfriend in order to have sex with her does not violate the law. If the woman had been married, and if the man had posed as her husband, the court said, the man's actions would have constituted rape.
Law That Allows Unmarried Women To Be Raped Will Be Fixed, Says Jimmy Gomez
An Eastside state legislator was quick to propose fixing an 1872 rape law that got a defendant a new trial for having sex with a woman he duped into believing he was her boyfriend.
California's Second District Appeals Court yesterday said L.A.-area suspect Julio Morales should get a new trial because the old law does not specifically protect unmarried women from rapists who impersonate their boyfriends. The letter of the law only protects married women from people who would impersonate a husband in order to get sex:
Legislators vow to shut legal loophole in Los Angeles rape case
Three California lawmakers vowed separately Friday to eliminate a legal disparity that allowed a man to escape a rape conviction in Los Angeles County this week because the victim was not married.
Assemblymen Jimmy Gomez, Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian and state Sen. Noreen Evans moved quickly in the wake of a state appellate court decision that derailed a rape conviction.
Resources
Contact
Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0051
Tel: (916) 319-2051
Fax: (916) 319-2151
District Office:
1910 West Sunset Boulevard
Suite 810
Los Angeles, CA 90026-3350
Tel: (213) 483-5151
Fax: (213) 483-5166