Public Defense

Judge for a day

By Gideon

Here’s a fun little game. I give you a scenario, you tell me what the sentence should be.

Defendant is accused of sexually assaulting and kidnapping (as in restraining) his friend’s girlfriend. This is a classic he said/she said case. He says she consented, she says she did not. Both sides have credibility issues and there is no allegation of threat, force or violence. Absolutely no egregious facts. The defendant is acquitted of the kidnapping and convicted of the rape. The defendant has no criminal record, is in his late 20s - early 30s, is educated, held a steady job and is a family man. The maximum sentence allowable is 20 years and the minimum that must be imposed is 2 years.

What do you think is appropriate and why?

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Full post as published by A Public Defender on April 23, 2008 (boomark / email).