RAPE TRAUMA SYNDROME
See also: BATTERED CHILD SYNDROME; BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME; EXPERTS; POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
1. Generally.
Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS) refers to certain behaviors and feelings commonly exhibited by victims of rape, including fear, depression, guilt, and other emotional disorders. RTS has been recognized as an example of post-traumatic stress disorder.{footnote} [3440]Modern Synopsis of Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry/III 448 (Harold I. Kaplan & Benjamin J. Sadock eds., 1980).{/footnote} See POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER.
Expert testimony describing rape trauma syndrome has been declared admissible in a number of states by statute,{footnote} [3441] Ill. Rev. Stat. ch. 38, & 115-7.2 (admissible in sexual assault cases);{/footnote} and found admissible by a number of courts.{footnote}People v. Server, 148 Ill. App. 3d 888, 499 N.E.2d 1355 (1986), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 842, 108 S. Ct. 131 (expert testimony as to rape trauma syndrome admissible); People v. Taylor, 552 N.E.2d 131 (N.Y. 1990) (admissible as aid to understanding victim’s behavior)
CHECK State v. Delhaney, 417 S.E.2d 903 (W. Va. 1992)(expert testimony of rape counselor that victim’s behavior consistent with victim of rape held admissible); Wilt v. Buracker, 443 S.E.2d 196, 210, cert. denied, 114 S.Ct. 2137 (1994).{/footnote}
§ 2. Prosecution Use of Expert Testimony.
Expert testimony as to RTS has been held admissible to explain a victim’s behavior around the time of the alleged rape which might appear to a layperson be inconsistent with having been recentlt raped.{footnote} [3443]People v. Taylor, 552 N.E.2d 131 (N.Y. 1990) (admissible as aid to understanding victim’s behavior).{/footnote} Testimony as to RTS has also been held admissible to show that intercourse occurred,{footnote} [3444]State v. Bressman, 689 P.2d 901 (Kan. 1984); People v. Taylor, 552 N.E.2d 131 (N.Y. 1990).{/footnote} and that the victim did not consent,{footnote} [3445]State v. Huey, 699 P.2d 1290 (Ariz. 1985); State v. Marks, 647 P.2d 1292 (Kan. 1982).
Contra Minnesota v. Saldana, 324 N.W.2d 227 (Minn. 1982).{/footnote}
Some courts have held RTS testimony offered by the proecution inadmissible as both unhelpful to the trier of fact in establishing whether a rape occurred{footnote} [3446]Minnesota v. Saldana, 324 N.W.2d 227 (Minn. 1982).{/footnote} and unfairly prejudicial to the defendant.{footnote} [3447]Minnesota v. Saldana, 324 N.W.2d 227 (Minn. 1982).
Contra State v. Alberico, 861 P.2d 192 (N.M. 1993).{/footnote}
The Supreme Court of New Mexico, while ruling evidence of post-traumatic stress disorder admissible in a rape case to show how the victim’s conduct was consistent with rape, held that RTS itself is not generally accepted in the scientific community.{footnote} [3448]State v. Alberico, 861 P.2d 192, 210-12 (N.M. 1993).{/footnote} The court held that testimony as to post-traumatic stress disorder was inadmissible if offered to establish the victim’s credibility or to establish the identity of the perpetrator.{footnote} [3449]State v. Alberico, 861 P.2d 192, 210-12 (N.M. 1993).{/footnote}
RTS testimony has been held inadmissible unless the victim consents to submit to a psychiatric examination by a defense expert.{footnote} [3450]People v. Wheeler, 602 N.E.2d 826, 833 (Ill. 1992).{/footnote};
§ 3. Defense Use of Expert Testimony.
It has been held that a defendant may introduce expert testimony that the victim acted inconsistently with having been raped.{footnote} [3451]Henson v. State, 535 N.E.2d 1189, 1193 (Ind. 1989).{/footnote}
§ 4. Foundation for Expert Testimony.
Bibliography
[Testimony on Rape Trauma Syndrome: Admissibility and Effective Ue in Criminal Rape Prosecution, 33 Am. U. L. Rev. 417 (1984).
David McCord, The Admissibility of Expert Testimony Regarding Rape Trauma Syndrome in Rape Prosecutions, 26 B.C. L. Rev. 1143 (1985); see also Helen J. Lauderdale, Comment, The Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Rape Trauma Syndrome, 75 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 1366 (1984).
Ann Wolbert Burgess & Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, Rape Trauma Syndrome, 131 Am. J. Psychiatry 981 (1974).
Patricia A. Frazier & Eugene Borgida, Rape Trauma Syndrome, 16 Law & Hum. Behav. 293, 299 (1992); Dean G. Kilpatrick et al., The Aftermath of Rape: Recent Empirical Findings, 49 Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 658, 658‑59 (1979); Note, Checking the Allure of Increased Conviction Rates: The Admissibility of Expert Testimony on Rape Trauma Syndrome in Criminal Proceedings, 70 Va. L. Rev. 1657, 1667‑72 (1984).
19 Am. J. Trial Advocavcy 453
Patricia Frazier & Eugene Borgida, Juror Common Understanding and the Admissibility of Rape Trauma Syndrome Evidence in Court, 12 Law & Hum. Behav. 101 (1988)
Carol C. Nadelson et al., A Follow‑Up Study of Rape Victims, 139 Am. J. Psychiatry 1266 (1982)
Ann Wolbert Burgess, Rape Trauma Syndrome, Behav. Sci. & L., Summer 1983 at 97
Susan Stefan, The Protection Racket: Rape Trauma Syndrome, Psychiatric Labeling, and Law, 88 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1271 (1994).
Toni M. Massaro, Experts, Psychology, Credibility, and Rape: The Rape Trauma Syndrome Issue and Its Implications for Expert Psychological Testimony, 69 Minn. L. Rev. 395 (1985).