I’ve been on both sides of these cases as a lawyer and they are tough ones. If the alleged victim consumed alcohol and was impaired some jurors (if it made it that far) are going to hold that against her, notwithstanding any alleged incapacity to give consent. Of course that will always figure into her credibility. If she can’t remember critical things that damages the State’s case to the point that possibly it cannot even be pursued. The other evidence (or lack thereof) comes into play. The defendant’s statements (if any), other witnesses, and scientific evidence all can be big and decisive. If the defendant made a statement he’s pretty much locked in to that and it is either (1) didn’t happen or the State can’t prove that it did, or (2) consensual sex.

Truth is very few people are privy to the whole story. The prosecutor will receive a case file from the law enforcement agency(ies) following the investigation and he and his office will have as complete a picture as can be and then the defense will get it through discovery. The prosecutor will review the case file to see if charges are warranted based on the evidence. Either it is there or it is not and I have certainly declined to pursue very serious alleged offenses if I didn’t think a jury would be convinced of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Remember the Kobe Bryant case as proof that these cases can take twists and turns. LINK

Until then there will be just lots of speculation on message boards, social media, and in the news media. That’s pretty much always the case if any people involved fall into the notable person category.

This post was edited on 11/7/21 at 6:29 pm