Literature Review Blog #5

1. Visual:

Pictured is John F. Decker, one of the authors of this source.

2. Citation:

Decker, John F., and Peter G. Baroni. ""No" Still Means "YES": The Failure of the "Non-Consent" Reform Movement in American Rape and Sexual Assault Law." The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 101.4 (2011): 1081-169. Print.

3. Summary: This article from The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology focuses on the failure of the "non-consent" reform movement in rape and sexual assault law in America. John F. Decker and Peter G. Baroni both begin with a brief introduction mentioning the Yale fraternity sexist chant, "no means yes, yes means anal," pointing to the fact that there is an issue with consent related to sexual violence in criminal law. This article explores the various definitions of consent depending on the state and how some of the laws and provisions are contradictory; it also gives head to what exactly constitutes a valid rape case as well as where and how the necessary role of consent takes place. The belief that it is proper to touch another person in a sexual manner unless there is a violent response has prompted Decker and Baroni to develop this article. The findings and conclusions are the results of an extensive review of rape and sexual assault laws in our 50 states.

4. Authors: John F. Decker is a professor of law at DePaul University among other schools. He received his BA at the University of Iowa, his JD degree at Creighton, and his JSD at New York University. He has been recognized as Outstanding Teacher by both the College of Law and university. Peter G. Baroni graduated from DePaul University with a BA in history and a minor in English Literature. He then graduated from the Howard University of Law. During law school he acted as summer research interns for law firms, was an assitant state's attorney, and began a law practice among a pile of other impressive law-related things. He is now an adjunct professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

5. Key terms:

• Consent: a concurrence of wills. Express consent is that directly given, either lira voce or in writing. Implied consent is that manifested by signs, actions, or facts, or by inaction or silence, which raise a presumption that the consent has been given. Consent in an act of reason, accompanied with deliberation, the mind weighing as in a balance the good or evil on each side. (http://thelawdictionary.org/consent/)
• Sexist: relating to, involving, or fostering sexism, or attitudes and behavior toward someone based on the person's gender. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexist)
• Forcible compulsion: in relation to sexual offences it means to compel by use of physical force or by threat. Forcible compulsion places a person in fear of immediate or future death, or physical injury to one's self or another person or in fear that the person or another person will immediately or in future be kidnapped.(http://definitions.uslegal.com/f/forcible-compulsion/)

6. Quotes:

• "'No means yes' was the clarion call that these bright Elis thought totally acceptable until confronted by outraged individuals within the university. Sadly, this event represented only too well the attitude of many American males when it comes to what standards of conduct should govern sexual relations with another" (1082).
• "The statute defines consent as 'words or overt actions by a person who is competent to give informed consent indicating a freely given agreement to have sexual intercourse or sexual contact.' Some states provide more detailed explanations of what constitutes consent" (1088). 

7. Value: This article from The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is valuable because it gives this argument legal framework to apply, critique, compare, and/or contrast. It gives us unbiased information about what consent means as well as the idea of force in sexual violence. It is a good academic source because it is purely factual but reveals much about how our legal system works and how sometimes it is not just when it comes to sexual violence and the issue of consent and how that affects the way cases are criminalized if at all.