Opposition to ABA Resolution 114
August 9, 2019 - The Board of Directors of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan joins with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and our counterparts across the country in opposition to ABA Resolution 114 which recommends that state legislatures make consent an affirmative defense in criminal sexual assault cases. It would further require consent to be affirmatively granted. CDAM opposes this resolution and believes that by shifting the burden of proof of this critical element of the case from the State to the defense, the proposal undercuts the principals of the reasonable doubt standard and will result in wrongful convictions. Michigan has fourteen delegates on the American Bar Association House of Delegates. We encourage our members to join with us in reaching out to those delegates by email to also express your opposition. If you personally know one of the delegates, then a phone call to them would be even more powerful. There is a groundswell of criminal defense attorneys across the country pulling together to stop the passage of this resolution. Let’s also make our position be heard. Attached: |
