Rape Shield Laws

[Abe Froman]

What is the name of your state? TX Can a defendant in a criminal case use the rape shield law as a pre-trial motion to either delay or dismiss the current charges against him?

I'll clarify. If a female has made false allegations of assault against her boyfriend, in this case me, and during the investigation of that assault, it was discovered that that female is guilty of rape and that crime has been reported to both the local police and to the FBI due to the details surrounding the rape, but obviously due process for the rape allegation has not yet run their course, how can that be brought to the attention of the current false allegation trial judge?

I understand my allegation of rape is not a defense to assault, and this assault is the class C misdemeanor type, but at the same time, I have no doubt the false allegations were made so that female could have time to erase some evidence of the rape she is guilty of. And to further clarify, it would be me she raped and that is why I suggested the rape shield law as it might have relevance.

I'm currently not represented, but have been, and the judge has given me two weeks to come up with an attorney. I know I'm a defendant in a criminal case, but I need a prosecutor more than a criminal defense attorney and I know that as fact and can prove it with video tape evidence. On the other hand, that female is friends with the local DA and is so because she used to work for him. To me, what may be misconduct is better described as obstruction of justice. But for the current proceedings, I want to make a motion to the judge that somehow explains this situation so he can rule on it. I have determined that he has the ability to dismiss anything if whatever he is provided meets the threshold for doing so, and that's really what I want to shoot for. I realize there is a fine line between what he would be provided to consider, and what a jury would consider in a trial. But again, what I have is not a defense, it's an offense, so I'm lost and could use some direction. Thanks

[CavemanLawyer]

The Texas "rape shield law" is actually rule 412 of the rules of evidence and it prevents a defendant accused of sexual assault from alluding to a witness's past sexual reputation or bringing up any specific instances of sexual conduct, unless it falls within a specific exception. Since you are accused of class C assault, rule 412 is completely inapplicable in your case. You are free to try to raise this alleged rape at trial but only if it is truly relevant to the case, and even then the judge is still free to keep it all out under rule 403 if he feels it is too prejudicial to the victim.

Even if these allegations are completely untrue and solely brought for the purpose of covering up this alleged rape, I still don't see how you can raise these issues pre-trial. What you are basically wanting is a motion to quash the information but as long as the information is properly filed, you can only quash it if the facts as alleged are insufficient to satisfy the charge. It seems that your argument is not that the alleged facts don't satisfy the charge, but rather that the alleged facts are simply untrue. That's what the trial is for, to determine the truth.

A judge has no authority to just dismiss a case because you present evidence that the complainant is lying. That can only be done on motion of the State's attorney. If you want the judge to dismiss pre-trial than you can only do so through certain motions or pleas. (ex: motion to quash, motion to suppress, plea of underage, etc...) I don't think your allegations can be raised through any pre-trial mechanism.

If you have evidence of a crime than submit it to your local police agency and file a complaint.

[Abe Froman]

Thanks CL. And, I did file charges and provided enough evidence, at least I thought, to start a formal investigation, but as much as I was truly wanting to file charges, I was also sort of phishing for a response, or how my allegation would be recieved in this small town in tx. Because the female who I allege is guilty once worked for the local DA, and the natural connection between a DA and a police force, I'm hesitant to simply hand over the original video tapes of the crimes. Additional oddities about the crimes themselves tend to give weight to the possibility of it being someone she once worked with or around.

As I sift through this mess, it almost seems like a perfect crime. Of course, even that gives weight to the possibility of the other actors of the rape, who at this time are not yet identified, but that they know and understand law, such as a cop or a DA employee, or even a DA himself. Considering this one in particual is currently indicted on three felonies, and to me, it's a slam dunk, but I don't know what to do about it. It has also been reported to the FBI, but comming from a private ciitizen seems to have no value.