Model Penal Code:

Sexual Assault and Related Offenses

This project is re-examining Article 213 of the Model Penal Code, which was ahead of its time when approved by ALI in 1962, but is now outdated and no longer a reliable guide for legislatures and courts.

Status Details

At the 2016 Annual Meeting, an amended version of Subsection 213.0(3) (definition of consent) was presented in a motion from the floor by Professor Kate Stith of Yale Law School. The motion passed by a voice vote and the membership approved the amended language of Subsection 213.0(3), also by a voice vote. The amended version will be presented to the ALI Council at its next meeting in October 2016. A motion to suspend indefinitely or characterize Tentative Draft No. 2 as a Discussion Draft failed by a vote of 128 in favor to 171 against. There was insufficient time to discuss Section 213.2. Read the updated text of Subsection 213.0(3) here.

At its January 2016 meeting, Council approved the Reporters' revised version of Council Draft No. 3, Sections 213.0(3) and 213.2, subject to the discussion at the meeting and the usual editorial prerogative. The Advisers and the MCG met on March 23, 2016, to discuss the material in C.D. No. 3, which was presented in Preliminary Draft No. 6.

At its October 2015 meeting, Council discussed the Project with Reporters. There was no Council Draft. No formal action was taken on any draft.

On the agenda at the 2015 Annual Meeting, was Discussion Draft No. 2, which included the following Sections of the draft:

Substantive Material – I. Proposed Sections 213.0 to 213.11; II. General Commentary; III. Statutory Commentary (Sections 213.0-213.9)
Evidentiary Material: I. Proposed Section 213.10; II. Commentary.

The membership discussed and debated the Sections, including the topics of sexual contact, force and consent, and offenses where the victim is intoxicated. The Reporters fielded numerous questions and comments, but, as expected, no vote was taken on the draft.

Tentative Draft No. 1 was presented to the membership at the 2014 Annual Meeting. As time ran out before the discussion could be concluded, no vote was taken to approve the draft.

In June 2015, the New York Times published the op-ed titled "Regulating Sex" that examined the deliberations about affirmative consent. Read the full New York Times op-ed here.

Project Video

Project Reporter Stephen Schulhofer and Associate Reporter Erin Murphy discuss the project in this short video:

Reporter

Stephen J. Schulhofer New York University School of Law
New York, NY

Associate Reporter

Erin E. Murphy New York University School of Law
New York, NY

Advisers

Michelle J. Anderson Brooklyn College
Brooklyn, NY

Susan Frelich Appleton Washington University School of Law
Saint Louis, MO

Thomas Bergstrom Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Philadelphia, PA

Janis M. Berry Massachusetts Appeals Court
Boston, MA

Mary Patrice Brown O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Washington, DC

Samuel W. Buell Duke University School of Law
Durham, NC

I. Bennett Capers Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn, NY

W. Tucker Carrington The University of Mississippi School of Law
University, MS

Robert M. Cary Williams & Connolly, LLP
Washington, DC

Herschella G. Conyers University of Chicago Law School
Chicago, IL

Deborah W. Denno Fordham University School of Law
New York, NY

Paul Steven Diamond U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Arthur T. Donato Media, PA

Ronald Eisenberg Philadelphia District Attorney's Office
Philadelphia, PA

Donna Lee Elm Federal Defender's Office, District of Florida
Tampa, FL

Mary Fan University of Washington School of Law
Seattle, WA

Kimberly Kessler Ferzan University of Virginia School of Law
Charlottesville, VA

Terry L. Fromson Women's Law Project
Philadelphia, PA

Aya Gruber University of Colorado, Boulder Law School
Boulder, CO

Rosemary Hart U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Barbara Parker Hervey Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Austin, TX

Kelly A. Higashi U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC

William M. Jackson District of Columbia Superior Court
Washington, DC

Virginia M. Kendall U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Chicago, IL

Nelly N. Khouzam Florida Second District Court of Appeal
Tampa, FL

Derek P. Langhauser Maine Community College System
South Portland, ME

Jennifer G. Long AEquitas
Washington, DC

Gerard E. Lynch U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
New York, NY

Catharine A. MacKinnon University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, MI

Nancy E. O'Malley Alameda County District Attorney's Office
Oakland, CA

Wendy L. Patrick County of San Diego District Attorney's Office
San Diego, CA

Lawrence Peterson Public Defenders Office of Wisconsin
Madison, WI

Katherian D. Roe Office of Federal Public Defender, U.S. Courthouse
Minneapolis, MN

Lee H. Rosenthal U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
Houston, TX

David Rudovsky Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg LLP
Philadelphia, PA

Jon M. Sands District of Arizona
Phoenix, AZ

Suellyn Scarnecchia University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, MI

Abbe Smith Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC

Darryl Antonio Stallworth The Law Office of Darryl A. Stallworth
Oakland, CA

Carol S. Steiker Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA

Jeannie Suk Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA

Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. Harvard Law School, Criminal Justice Institute
Cambridge, MA

Reggie B. Walton U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Washington, DC

Joan Patricia Weber San Diego Superior Court
San Diego, CA

Liaison

Patrick Fergusson RAINN
Washington, DC

Michael J. Iacopino Brennan Lenehan
Manchester, NH

Norman L. Reimer National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Washington, DC

Richard Scott Schmechel D.C. Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission
Washington, DC

Members Consultative Group

Ronald J. Allen Northwestern University School of Law
Chicago, IL

José F. Anderson University of Baltimore School of Law
Baltimore, MD

Richard T. Andrias Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, First Dept.
New York, NY

Joseph R. Bankoff Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA

Jennifer S. Bard University of Cincinnati College of Law
Cincinnati, OH

John S. Beckerman Moorestown, NJ, USA

Dianne Bennett Hodgson Russ LLP
Buffalo, NY

Brian Bix University of Minnesota Law School
Minneapolis, MN

Steven M. Bradford HNI Corporation
Muscatine, IA

Ellen Bublick The University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law
Tucson, AZ

José A. Cabranes U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
New Haven, CT

Catherine L. Carpenter Southwestern Law School
Los Angeles, CA

Eric R. Carpenter Florida International University College of Law
Miami, FL

John Hill Cayce Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP
Fort Worth, TX

Martha E. Chamallas Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH

Henry L. Chambers, Jr. University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law
Richmond, VA

Steven L. Chanenson Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA

Roger S. Clark Rutgers Law School
Camden, NJ

Thomas L. Cubbage, III Covington & Burling LLP
Washington, DC

Beverly Winslow Cutler Alaska Superior Court, Third Judicial District
Palmer, AK

George A. Davidson Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
New York, NY

Michelle Madden Dempsey Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA

John L. Diamond University of California, Hastings College of the Law
San Francisco, CA

Donald L. Doernberg Pace University School of Law
White Plains, NY

Joshua Dressler Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH

Jennifer Ann Drobac Indiana University, Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Indianapolis, IN

Meredith J. Duncan University of Houston Law Center
Houston, TX

Christine M. Durham Utah Supreme Court
Salt Lake City, UT

Cindy Dyer Vital Voices Global Partnership
Washington, DC

Ilana H. Eisenstein U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Ira Mark Ellman Berkeley, CA, USA

Sheldon H. Elsen JAMS
New York, NY

Roger A. Fairfax, Jr. George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC

James E. Felman Kynes, Markman & Felman, PA
Tampa, FL

Herbert L. Fenster Covington & Burling LLP
Washington, DC

Arthur Norman Field Field Consulting Services LLC
New York, NY

Edward B. Foley Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH

C. Allen Foster Whiteford Taylor Preston, LLP
Washington, DC

Eric M. Freedman Hofstra University School of Law
Hempstead, NY

Andrew L. Frey Mayer Brown LLP
New York, NY

Charles Fried Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA

Paul L. Friedman U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Washington, DC

Kenneth S. Gallant University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law
Little Rock, AR

Anne Gardner Texas Second Court of Appeals
Fort Worth, TX

Bryan A. Garner LawProse, Inc.
Dallas, TX

Henry L. Garza Bell County District Attorney's Office
Belton, TX

Nancy Gertner Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA

Michael Greenwald Philadelphia, PA, USA

Betsy J. Grey Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Tempe, AZ

Charles E. Griffin Butler Snow LLP
Ridgeland, MS

Leslie Joan Harris University of Oregon School of Law
Eugene, OR

Micalyn Shafer Harris ADR Services
Ridgewood, NJ

Virginia Ellen Hench University of Hawaii-Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law
Honolulu, HI

Ronald K. Henry Kaye Scholer LLP
Washington, DC

Ernest R. Higginbotham UNT Dallas College of Law
Dallas, TX

Alan D. Hornstein University of Maryland, Francis King Carey School of Law
Baltimore, MD

Steven F. Huefner Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH

John A. Humbach Pace University School of Law
White Plains, NY

Richard H. Hunter Hunter & Cole
St Croix, VI

Craig Iscoe Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC

Ralph A. Jacobs Jacobs Kivitz & Drake LLC
Philadelphia, PA

Liza Ilona Karsai Uniform Law Commission
Chicago, IL

Michael Edward Keasler Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Austin, TX

Evelyn V. Keyes Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District
Houston, TX

Mark R. Killenbeck University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, Leflar Law Center
Fayetteville, AR

Nancy J. King Vanderbilt University Law School
Nashville, TN

J. David Kirkland, Jr. Baker Botts L.L.P.
Houston, TX

Laird C. Kirkpatrick George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC

Daniel S. Kleinberger Mendota Heights, MN

Cecelia M. Klingele University of Wisconsin Law School
Madison, WI

Michael J. Kramer Noble Superior Court
Albion, IN

Sybil H. Landau New York, NY, USA

Howard Langer Langer Grogan & Diver, P.C.
Philadelphia, PA

William J. Leahy Office of Indigent Legal Services
Albany, NY

Bill Lann Lee Civil Rights Educaton and Enforcement Center
Berkeley, CA

Cynthia K. Lee George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC

Evan Tsen Lee University of California, Hastings College of the Law
San Francisco, CA

George W. Liebmann Liebmann & Shively, P.A.
Baltimore, MD

Wayne A. Logan Florida State University College of Law
Tallahassee, FL

Henry R. Lord DLA Piper US LLP
Baltimore, MD

Margaret Colgate Love Law Office of Margaret Love
Washington, DC

Linda A. Malone College of William & Mary School of Law
Williamsburg, VA

C. Scott Maravilla U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
Washington, DC

Amie C. Martinez Anderson, Creager & Wittstruck, P.C., LLO
Lincoln, NE

Margaret P. Mason LeClairRyan
New Haven, CT

Alfred D. Mathewson University of New Mexico School of Law
Albuquerque, NM

Judith L. Maute University of Oklahoma College of Law
Norman, OK

David McCord Drake University Law School
Des Moines, IA

Benjamin C. McMurray Utah Federal Defender Office
Salt Lake City, UT

M. Isabel Medina Loyola University, New Orleans School of Law
New Orleans, LA

Natasha Minsker ACLU of California, Center for Advocacy & Policy
Sacramento, CA

S. David Mitchell University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, MO

Thomas D. Morgan George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC

Thomas R. Newman Duane Morris LLP
New York, NY

Ellen S. Podgor Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL

Josephine R. Potuto University of Nebraska College of Law
Lincoln, NE

Gerald S. Reamey St. Mary's University School of Law
San Antonio, TX

Sarah E. Ricks Rutgers Law School
Camden, NJ

Ira P. Robbins American University, Washington College of Law
Washington, DC

James L. Robertson Wise Carter Child & Caraway, P.A.
Jackson, MS

Margaret Casey Rodgers U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
Pensacola, FL

Theodore O. Rogers, Jr. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
New York, NY

Ronald D. Rotunda Chapman University, Dale E. Fowler School of Law
Orange, CA

Sabrina R. Safrin Rutgers Law School
Newark, NJ

Lynn Hecht Schafran Legal Momentum
New York, NY

Paul Schlaud Reeves & Brightwell LLP
Austin, TX

Victor E. Schwartz Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
Washington, DC

Kami Chavis Simmons Wake Forest University School of Law
Winston Salem, NC

Kenneth W. Simons University of California, Irvine School of Law
Irvine, CA

Virginia E. Sloan The Constitution Project
Washington, DC

Bradley Y. Smith Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
New York, NY

Arthur B. Spitzer American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area
Washington, DC

Edwin H. Stern Gibbons P.C.
Newark, NJ

H. Mark Stichel Gohn Hankey Stichel & Berlage, LLP
Baltimore, MD

Kate Stith Yale Law School
New Haven, CT

Mark P. Strasser Capital University Law School
Columbus, OH

Guy Miller Struve Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
New York, NY

Dwight H. Sullivan U.S. Department of Defense
Washington, DC

Mary-Christine Sungaila Haynes and Boone, LLP
Costa Mesa, CA

Carolyn Engel Temin Philadelphia, PA, USA

Bowen H. Tucker Chicago, IL

Deborah Tuerkheimer Northwestern University School of Law
Chicago, IL

Michael Vitiello University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Sacramento, CA

Eugene Volokh University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Los Angeles, CA

Jay W. Waks American Kennel Club
New York, NY

John L. Warden Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
New York, NY

Thomas D. Waterman Supreme Court of Iowa
Des Moines, IA

Sarah N. Welling University of Kentucky College of Law
Lexington, KY

Marianne Wesson University of Colorado Law School
Boulder, CO

Christina B. Whitman University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, MI

Robin E. Wosje The Justice Management Institute
Arlington, VA

Ronald F. Wright Wake Forest University School of Law
Winston Salem, NC

Publicly Available Products from This Project

Tentative Draft No. 1

Sexual Assault and Related Offenses

This project is re-examining Article 213 of the Model Penal Code, which was ahead of its time when approved by ALI in 1962, but is now outdated and no longer a reliable guide for legislatures and courts.

Status Details

Project Video

Members - sign in to access materials for your current projects or join a Members Consultative Group.

Meetings

Publicly Available Products from This Project