NCJ Number
151022
Date Published
1994
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Several sexual assault studies have found that victim credibility is important in police decisions to investigate and make arrests in sexual assault cases and that victim credibility influences prosecutorial handling of sexual assault cases; an alternative view examines victim credibility as a phenomenon constructed and maintained through interaction.
Abstract
To assess the kinds of accounts prosecutors offered in sexual assault cases to support their complaint filing decisions, data were obtained from an ethnographic field study of the prosecution of sexual assault crimes by deputy district attorneys that involved 17 months of observation and more than 300 case screenings. Two features of the court setting were studied in the context of prosecutorial decisions: (1) prosecutorial concern with maintaining a high conviction rate to promote an image of being the community's legal protector; and (2) prosecutorial and court procedures for processing sexual assault cases. Consideration was also given to prosecutorial accounts of case rejections based on the discrediting of victim sexual assault allegations. The use of official reports and records by prosecutors to detect discrepancies in sexual assault reporting and the development of typologies of rape-relevant behavior, postincident interaction, and victim demeanor are explored. The reliance of prosecutors on ulterior motives in sexual assault reporting is considered, as well as the prior criminal activity of victims. The author concludes that case filing represents a critical stage in the prosecutorial process and that a significant percentage of sexual assault cases are rejected at this stage. She also shows how prosecutors rely on assumptions about relationships, gender, and sexuality in filing sexual assault complaints. 28 references