Model Penal Code:

Sexual Assault and Related Offenses

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re-examines Article 213 of the Model Penal Code, which was ahead of its time when approved by ALI in 1962, but is now outdated and no longer a reliable guide for legislatures and courts.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

The Reporter has revised the black letter of Tentative Draft No. 6 as a result of discussion and motions at the 2022 Annual Meeting, and the Council has approved the revisions. The Reporter will make conforming changes to the Comments, consistent with the revisions to the black letter, and will prepare the official text of the project. Publication is expected in 2025.

At the 2022 Annual Meeting, the following actions were taken on Tentative Draft No. 6:

  • A motion to amend the definition of “consent” passed.
  • A motion to remove entirely a definition of “consent” failed.
  • A motion to amend a portion of § 213.9(2)(a)(ii) failed.
  • A motion to amend § 213.9(5) failed.
  • A submitted motion to amend the definition of “coercion” to include “psychological threat of legal pressure” was agreed to by the Reporter and received no opposition from ALI members.
  • A motion to amend §§ 213.9(3) and (4) was split to consider separate motions:
  • The first part of the motion to make §§ 213.9(3) and (4) registrable failed.
  • The second part of the motion to change the grading of § 213.9(4) to a felony of the third degree with a ten-year maximum sentence failed.
     
  • A motion to amend § 213.11A. Registration for Law-Enforcement Purposes to add a new subsection (e) passed.
  • A motion to amend § 213.11H. Access to Registry Information was split to consider separate motions:
  • The first part of the motion to edit (a)(ii) failed.
  • The second part of the motion to add a new subsection (a)(iv) and renumber existing (a)(iv) to (a)(v) failed.
  • The third part of the motion to add a new subsection (a)(vi) failed.
  • The fourth part of the motion to add a new subsection (b) and (b)(i) failed.
     
  • An additional series of motions on § 213.11 was agreed to by the Reporter and received no opposition from ALI members, and subsequently passed: 
  • 213.11 to add a new subsection (5);
  • 213.11A to add a new subsection (4);
  • 213.11D to add a new subsection (5); and
  • 213.11D to delete subsection (1)(g).
     
  • A motion to withdraw in its entirely the revised Article 213 of the Model Penal Code from publication was discussed; members were instructed that in order to support the motion they should reject the motion to approve the draft.

The membership voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 6, subject to the amendments that were approved at the Meeting. 

____________

At its meeting on March 2, 2022, the Council approved the following material in Council Draft No. 12 and the revisions to that draft: Sections 213.0, 213.9, and 213.11-213.11J, and the grading changes in subsection (3) of Section 213.3 and subsections (1) and (4) of Section 213.8. The other material in Council Draft No. 12 requiring approval was approved at the January Council meeting.

At its meeting on January 20 and 21, 2022, the Council reserved consideration of the following sections and topics in Council Draft No. 12: Sections 213.9 and 213.11-213.11J, and grading and registration in Section 213.8. The Council approved all other Sections in the draft with provisions marked by an asterisk. The Council will continue its discussion of the reserved sections and topics at its March meeting.

At the 2021 Annual Meeting, the membership voted to approve Tentative Draft No. 5. Approval of this draft marks the completion of the project, subject to the Council’s approval of the amendments approved at this Annual Meeting. The following are details of the actions taken at the 2021 Annual Meeting:

  • A motion presented by Kimberly Kessler Ferzan to amend the “recklessly” mens rea formulations in Article 213 and structure in certain offenses passed.
  • Three motions to modify Section 213.3 failed.
  • After the Reporters agreed in substance to a motion to add a new subsection (10) to Section 213.8, an amended motion to add the following language as a new subsection (10) was passed by the membership: “For an offense charged under Section 213.8, an actor younger than 14 may be adjudicated delinquent only as a misdemeanant, regardless of the penalty authorized by the statute for the offense.”
  • A motion to delete Section 213.10 failed.
  • Six motions to amend Sections 213.11A, 213.11E, 213.11F, 213.11G, and 213.11I were accepted by the Reporters and passed by the membership.
  • A motion to remove subsection (1)(b) of Section 213.0 failed.

____________

At the 2017 Annual Meeting, the definitions of “Sexual Penetration” and “Oral Sex” were discussed and approved as presented in the draft after a motion on each definition was presented from the floor and did not pass. There was discussion on 213.1, but there was not enough time for all motions on this section to be considered. The following are details of the actions taken at the 2017 Annual Meeting:

  • A motion to add “purposeful” to Section 213.0(1) failed.
  • A motion to replace “touching” in Section 213.0(2) failed.
  • A motion to move the mens rea from the end to the beginning of Section 213.1(1) was accepted by the Reporters as a friendly amendment.
  • A written motion regarding Section 213.1 was made into two motions from the floor: (i) a motion to remove “recklessly” from Section 213.1(1) passed; and (ii) a motion to add the phrase “without the consent of the other person” to Section 213.1(1) was not reached due to lack of time.
  • As previously announced, the meeting had to stop at 5:15 p.m. for Annual Dinner set-up, before discussion of the second motion regarding Section 213.1, or discussion of Section 213.1 generally, was complete.
  • A Boskey motion to approve Sections 213.0(1) and 213.0(2) passed. 
  • Section 213.1 will be reviewed at future meetings.  

Note: The summary above, which was initially posted immediately following the Annual Meeting, was corrected after staff received and reviewed the transcript of the proceedings. 

At the 2016 Annual Meeting, the definition of "Consent" was approved as amended. The Council approved this definition at its October 2016 meeting.

____________

All draft approvals are subject to the discussion at the meeting and usual editorial prerogative.

For an in-depth description of this project, please visit the Model Penal Code: Sexual Assault page of the The ALI Adviser.

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
Janis M. Berry Janis M Berry Attorney at Law (Retired)
Marblehead, MA
Mary Patrice Brown O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Washington, DC
Samuel W. Buell Duke University School of Law
Durham, NC
I. Bennett Capers Fordham University School of Law
New York, NY
W. Tucker Carrington The University of Mississippi School of Law
Oxford, MS
Robert M. Cary Williams & Connolly LLP
Washington, DC
Sarah Deer University of Kansas School of Law
Lawrence, KS
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 Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office
Philadelphia, PA
Donna Lee Elm Law Practice of Donna Elm
Cottonwood, AZ
Mary D. Fan University of Washington School of Law
Seattle, WA
Kimberly Kessler Ferzan University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Philadelphia, PA
Terry L. Fromson Women's Law Project (Retired)
Philadelphia, PA
Fatima Goss Graves National Women's Law Center
Washington, DC
Aya Gruber University of Southern California, Gould School of Law
Los Angeles, CA
Rosemary Hart U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC
Barbara Parker Hervey Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Austin, TX
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 Maritime Academy and Community Colleges
Cumberland Foreside, 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 (Retired)
Oakland, CA
Wendy L. Patrick County of San Diego District Attorney's Office
San Diego, CA
Lee H. Rosenthal U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
Houston, TX
David Rudovsky Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing, Feinberg & Lin LLP
Philadelphia, PA
Jon M. Sands District of Arizona
Phoenix, AZ
Suellyn Scarnecchia University of Michigan Law School (Retired)
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 Gersen 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
Corey Rayburn Yung Kansas University School of Law
Lawrence, KS
Liaison
Laura Dunn L.L. Dunn Law Firm, PLLC
Washington, DC
Erin Earp RAINN
Washington, DC
Cynthia Garrett Families Advocating for Campus Equality
ANACORTES, WA
Rebecca Henry ABA Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence
Washington, DC
Michael J. Iacopino Brennan Lenehan
Manchester, NH
Norman L. Reimer Fair Trials
New York, NY
Richard Scott Schmechel D.C. Criminal Code Reform Commission
Washington, DC
Ebony Tucker National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
Washington, DC
Members Consultative Group
Raheemah F. Abdulaleem Executive Office of the President, Office of Administration
Washington, DC
Elizabeth K. Ainslie Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP (Retired)
Swarthmore, PA
James J. Alfini South Texas College of Law Houston
Houston, TX
Ronald J. Allen Northwestern University Pritzker 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. (Retired)
New York, NY
David J. Aronofsky The University of Montana School of Law (Retired)
Missoula, MT
Joseph R. Bankoff Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
Jennifer S. Bard University of Cincinnati College of Law
Cincinnati, OH
Flora L. Becker Philadelphia, PA
John S. Beckerman New Harbor, ME
Warren Belmar Palm Beach, FL
Dianne Bennett Hodgson Russ LLP (Retired)
Buffalo, NY
Brian Bix University of Minnesota Law School
Minneapolis, MN
Christopher L. Blakesley University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
Las Vegas, NV
Steven M. Bradford HNI Corporation
Muscatine, IA
Russell J. Bruemmer WilmerHale (Retired)
Washington, DC
Ellen M. Bublick Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Phoenix, AZ
José A. Cabranes U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
New Haven, CT
Terry Calvani Brunswick Group LLC
Nashville, TN
Catherine L. Carpenter Southwestern Law School
Los Angeles, CA
Eric R. Carpenter Florida International University College of Law
Miami, FL
Jenny E. Carroll Texas A&M University School of Law
Fort Worth, TX
John Hill Cayce Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP
Fort Worth, TX
Martha E. Chamallas The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH
Henry L. Chambers, Jr. University of Richmond School of Law
Richmond, VA
Steven L. Chanenson Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Villanova, PA
Kami Chavis William & Mary Law School
Winston Salem, NC
Gabriel J. Chin University of California, Davis School of Law
Davis, CA
Penelope L. Christophorou Morgan Lewis Bockius LLP
New York, NY
Dane S. Ciolino Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
Metairie, LA
Roger S. Clark Rutgers Law School (Retired)
Camden, NJ
Christine Nero Coughlin Wake Forest University School of Law
Winston-Salem, NC
Thomas L. Cubbage, III The Center for American and International Law
Plano, TX
Beverly Winslow Cutler Alaska Superior Court, Third Judicial District
Palmer, AK
George A. Davidson Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
New York, NY
Ross E. Davies George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Arlington, VA
Michelle Madden Dempsey Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Villanova, PA
John L. Diamond University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Donald L. Doernberg Pace University, Elisabeth Haub School of Law (Retired)
Penn Valley, CA
Joshua Dressler The 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 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Salt Lake City, UT
Cindy Dyer Vital Voices Global Partnership
Washington, DC
Ilana H. Eisenstein DLA Piper US LLP
Philadelphia, PA
Ira Mark Ellman Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Retired)
Berkeley, CA
Roger A. Fairfax, Jr. Howard University School of Law
Washington, DC
Ira M. Feinberg Office of the New York Attorney General
New York, NY
James E. Felman Kynes, Markman & Felman, PA
Tampa, FL
Herbert L. Fenster Covington & Burling LLP (Retired)
Longmont, CO
Eugene R. Fidell Yale Law School (Retired)
Stockbridge, MA
Arthur Norman Field Field Consulting Services LLC
New York, NY
Edward B. Foley The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH
C. Allen Foster Whiteford Taylor Preston, LLP
Washington, DC
Mary Anne Franks George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC
Caroline Rose Fredrickson Georgetown University Law Center
Washington, DC
Eric M. Freedman Hofstra University School of Law
Hempstead, NY
Robert Shenton French High Court of Australia (Retired)
Perth, Australia
Andrew L. Frey New York, NY
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 (Retired)
Sequim, WA
Bryan A. Garner LawProse Inc.
Dallas, TX
Stephen P. Garvey Cornell Law School
Ithaca, NY
Henry L. Garza Bell County District Attorney's Office
Belton, TX
Jacob E. Gersen Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA
Nancy Gertner Harvard Law School
Cambridge, MA
Christopher S. Gontarz Lynch & Pine
Newport, RI
Hervé Gouraige Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.
Newark, NJ
Linda Sheryl Greene Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, MI
Michael Greenwald Philadelphia, PA
Betsy J. Grey Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Phoenix, AZ
Charles E. Griffin Butler Snow LLP
Ridgeland, MS
Just. William M. C. Gummow High Court of Australia
New South Wales, Australia
James B. Halpern ArentFox Schiff (Retired)
Bethesda, MD
Leslie Joan Harris University of Oregon School of Law (Retired)
Eugene, OR
Robert M. Hart Bronxville, NY
Virginia Ellen Hench University of Hawaii at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law
Honolulu, HI
Ronald K. Henry Arnold & Porter (Retired)
Washington, DC
Ernest R. Higginbotham UNT Dallas College of Law (Retired)
Dallas, TX
W. William Hodes The William Hodes Law Firm
Lady Lake, FL
Brian M. Hoffstadt California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Two
Los Angeles, CA
Steven F. Huefner The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Columbus, OH
John A. Humbach Pace University, Elisabeth Haub School of Law
White Plains, NY
Richard H. Hunter Richard H. Hunter PC
St. Thomas, VI
Craig Iscoe Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Ralph A. Jacobs Westport Island, ME
Richard Gibbs Johnson RGJ LLC
Cleveland, OH
Henry R. Kaufman Henry R. Kaufman, P.C.
New York, NY
Michael Edward Keasler Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (Retired)
Austin, TX
Evelyn V. Keyes Texas Court of Appeals, 1st District (Retired)
Houston, TX
Mark R. Killenbeck University of Arkansas School of Law, Leflar Law Center (Retired)
Fayetteville, AR
Nancy S. Kim Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago, IL
Nancy J. King Vanderbilt University Law School
Nashville, TN
Laird C. Kirkpatrick George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC
Daniel S. Kleinberger Mitchell Hamline School of Law (Retired)
Mendota Heights, MN
Cecelia M. Klingele University of Wisconsin Law School
Madison, WI
Nina A. Kohn Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse, NY
Glenn S. Koppel Western State College of Law
Irvine, CA
Michael J. Kramer Noble Circuit Court
Albion, IN
Sybil H. Landau New York, NY
Howard Langer Langer, Grogan & Diver, P.C.
Philadelphia, PA
Máximo Langer University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
Los Angeles, CA
William J. Leahy NYS Office of Indigent Legal Services (Retired)
Albany, NY
Bill Lann Lee Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center
Berkeley, CA
Cynthia K. Lee George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC
Evan Tsen Lee University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Judith Leonard Phoenix, AZ
George W. Liebmann Liebmann & Shively, P.A.
Baltimore, MD
Wayne A. Logan Florida State University College of Law
Tallahassee, FL
Margaret Colgate Love Law Office of Margaret Love
Washington, DC
Linda A. Malone William & Mary Law School
Williamsburg, VA
C. Scott Maravilla U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
Washington, DC
Richard D. Marks Health Record Banking Alliance
Charlottesville, VA
Amie C. Martinez Anderson, Creager & Wittstruck, P.C., LLO
Lincoln, NE
Margaret Penny Mason Barclay Damon LLP
New Haven, CT
Mary Massaron Plunkett Cooney, P.C.
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Alfred D. Mathewson University of New Mexico School of Law
Albuquerque, NM
Roy W. McLeese III District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Washington, DC
Benjamin C. McMurray Utah Federal Defender Office
Salt Lake City, UT
M. Isabel Medina Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
New Orleans, LA
A. Douglas Melamed Stanford Law School
Stanford, CA
Marjorie A. Meyers Federal Public Defender's Office, Southern District of Texas
Houston, TX
Katherine G. Minarik Coinbase
Chicago, IL
Natasha Minsker Minsker Consulting
Sacramento, CA
S. David Mitchell University of Missouri School of Law
Columbia, MO
Saira Mohamed University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Berkeley, CA
Thomas D. Morgan George Washington University Law School (Retired)
Naples, FL
Thomas R. Newman Duane Morris LLP
New York, NY
Virginia E. Nolan del Mar, CA
Michael M. O'Hear Marquette University Law School
Milwaukee, WI
John Edward Osborn University of Washington School of Law
Chadds Ford, PA
Nancy Leeds Perkins Arnold & Porter
Washington, DC
Ellen S. Podgor Stetson University College of Law
Gulfport, FL
Susan Poser Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY
Josephine R. Potuto University of Nebraska College of Law
Lincoln, NE
Margaret Jane Radin University of Michigan Law School (Retired)
Ann Arbor, MI
Gerald S. Reamey St. Mary's University School of Law
San Antonio, TX
Henry R. Reeve Denver District Attorney's Office (Retired)
Denver, CO
Christina C. Reiss U.S. District Court, District of Vermont
Burlington, VT
Sarah E. Ricks Rutgers Law School
Camden, NJ
Alice Ristroph Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn, NY
Ira P. Robbins American University, Washington College of Law
Bethesda, MD
Paul H. Robinson University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Philadelphia, PA
Margaret Casey Rodgers U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida
Pensacola, FL
Theodore O. Rogers, Jr. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
New York, NY
Ronald S. Rolfe Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (Retired)
New York, NY
Howard Ruda Hahn & Hessen LLP (Retired)
New York, NY
Sabrina R. Safrin Rutgers Law School
Newark, NJ
Stephen A. Saltzburg George Washington University Law School
Washington, DC
Lynn Hecht Schafran Legal Momentum
New York, NY
Paul Schlaud Texas Mutual Insurance Co.
Austin, TX
Elizabeth M. Schneider Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn, NY
Milton R. Schroeder Arizona State University, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Paradise Valley, AZ
Victor E. Schwartz Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
Washington, DC
Elizabeth J. Shapiro U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC
Richard W. Shepro Mayer Brown LLP
Chicago, IL
Kenneth W. Simons University of California, Irvine School of Law
Irvine, CA
Virginia E. Sloan Chevy Chase, MD
Robert D. Sloane Boston University School of Law
Boston, MA
Kathleen Smalley New York, NY
Bradley Y. Smith Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
New York, NY
Margaret Poles Spencer Circuit Court of City of Richmond (Retired)
Richmond, VA
Arthur B. Spitzer American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia
Washington, DC
Jane Stapleton The University of Sydney Law School
Glebe NSW, Australia
Edwin H. Stern Pashman Stein Walder Hayden P.C.
Hackensack, NJ
H. Mark Stichel RKW Law Group
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 (Retired)
New York, NY
Dwight H. Sullivan U.S. Department of Defense
Washington, DC
Mary-Christine Sungaila Complex Appellate Litigation Group
Newport Beach, CA
Carolyn Engel Temin District Attorney's Office
Philadelphia, PA
Bowen H. Tucker Chicago, IL
Deborah Tuerkheimer Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Chicago, IL
Michael Vitiello University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Sacramento, CA
Eugene Volokh The Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Jay W. Waks Larchmont, NY
Ari Ezra Waldman University of California, Irvine School of Law
Irvine, CA
John L. Warden Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
New York, NY
Thomas D. Waterman Supreme Court of Iowa
Des Moines, IA
Lois Weithorn University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Sarah N. Welling University of Kentucky, J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Lexington, KY
Marianne Wesson University of Colorado Law School (Retired)
Lyons, CO
Christina B. Whitman University of Michigan Law School
Ann Arbor, MI
Ken Wise Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Houston, TX
Nicholas J. Wittner Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, 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