Should Anyone Care that Sexual Assault is “Out of Character” for Biden?

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb considers what people mean when they say that a sexual assault allegation seems “out of character” for a particular person and explains why that reasoning is logically flawed. Focusing on differences between how people behave publicly and privately, Colb argues that the lack of an observed pattern of sexual misconduct is not evidence that a person did not engage in sexual misconduct on a specific occasion.

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Idaho v. Glodowski

Docket: 47131

Opinion Date: May 6, 2020

Judge: Roger S. Burdick

Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

David Glodowski appealed after he was convicted for failing to update his sex-offender registration in violation of Idaho Code section 18-8309. He argued the district court erred by ruling that his prior conviction under a Wisconsin statute was “substantially equivalent” to Idaho statutes that required sex-offender registration in Idaho. After review, the Idaho Supreme Court determined the district court improperly allowed the State to seek a redetermination of the “substantially equivalent” element given that the Idaho Bureau of Criminal Identification made a final determination on that element. However, because the State put forth sufficient evidence to prove that element, and the district court’s jury instruction accomplished the same purpose, the Supreme Court concluded the error was harmless. Accordingly, the Court found no reversible error in the district court’s decision to grant the State’s motion and provide the jury instruction. Therefore, judgment of conviction was affirmed.