Sexual assault charges that come down to the word of the alleged victim can be easily won or lost at the hands of the criminal defense lawyer representing you. Attorneys inexperienced with sexual assault cases may not have the technical knowledge or skill to effectively demonstrate that the accuser’s story has inconsistencies. Ordinary criminal defense lawyers may not be able to present a credible motive for the accuser to fabricate the offense. Even more difficult is how to defend against sexual assault allegations where the accuser seems to have an honest but mistaken belief about the events that led to the sexual act.

On the other side of the spectrum, “old-school” defense attorneys have a unique ability of completely alienating the jury. There are many stories where an old-school defense attorney attempted to degrade and intimidate the accuser. They do this by using terms such as “sweetheart” or starting stories with “back in my day…” In other situations, old-timer defense attorneys go on and on with unnecessary details of the sexual act, or ridiculing an alleged victim in front of sympathetic jurors. The worst jury is an angry jury.

The truth is, sexual assault juries today have been engrained in the new style of thought when it comes to the manner in which we treat members of the opposite gender. Long gone are the days of butt-grabbing behavior or derogatory name-calling being acceptable in any way. The key is to NOT minimize the seriousness of the negative sexual assault culture, but instead, demonstrate that your client is a unique victim of a false or mistaken allegation. We are the only group of defense attorneys that repeatedly balance the changing culture of our society with the rhetoric needed to get full acquittals for our clients.

The benefit to an accused person is that they don’t need to prove their innocence, even in a high-profile sexual assault case. There must simply be a reasonable doubt as to whether they committed the alleged sexual assault. How to convince a jury to apply the proper burden of proof and avoid simply weighing the evidence like it is on a scale is where the art comes in. Too many defense attorneys get caught up in trying to PROVE that the accuser consented, or that some other fact isn’t true. Instead, the art of sexual assault defense is convincing the jury that it doesn’t matter if they think the sexual assault might have happened, or even if it probably happened, but if there is any lingering reasonable doubt that she may have consented or wasn’t clear about the lack of consent, then the jury must acquit in a sexual assault trial.

Our sexual assault trial lawyers have won awards for their abilities in the courtroom, and routinely bring understanding and reason to courtrooms that are often overrun with hysterical pleas to imprison anyone accused of sexual assault.

The credibility of an alleged victim in a sex assault case is the most critical aspect of any defense. Sexual assault allegations are incredibly serious for the accused, and the consequences of a conviction demand that the credibility of an accusation is put through the intimidating gauntlet of cross examination. In the course of cross examination of an alleged victim, it is your attorney’s job to highlight inconsistencies, demonstrate lies, and uncover misconceptions. In so many of our cases, it isn’t until cross examination that an alleged victim finally has to answer the tough questions that clearly show her incredulity.

In many of our cases, we are able to establish evidence that an accuser is lying, but in many others, proof of the lie isn’t available. In cases like these, it becomes more important to prove the possibility the accuser is lying, or even, the possibility that their memory of the events and their perceptions are skewed and unreliable. If you want to know more about how we do this, give us a call.

Sexual assault is a serious accusation, and if you don’t build a robust defense quickly, there is a good chance your life will turn upside down. When it feels like it is your word against another’s, Golden Law steps up for you. We will thoroughly assess the credibility of witnesses to uncover critical facts and ensure you get a fair trial.

From the outset of your case, we will assess the credibility of witnesses to your case, conduct an independent investigation of the facts leading to your accusation, and develop a defense strategy to dismantle incriminating testimony against you.

Our goal is not to suppress the truth, but to get the whole picture of what occurred and make sure that your side of the story is heard.

Rape Shield Laws

The rules of evidence in virtually every jurisdiction in America are constructed to severely limit evidence of an alleged victim’s prior sexual behavior. Under “rape-shield laws,” evidence of an accuser’s sexual past is presumed inadmissible unless your attorney can convincingly demonstrate that the evidence directly relates to the issue of consent or is otherwise required by the Constitution. Attorneys that lack our experience are often too inexperienced to understand the importance of presenting compelling evidence at pretrial hearings to establish the admissibility of this type of evidence. Although they claim this rule is meant to protect the privacy of the accuser, we believe the rule used to help obtain convictions for thirsty prosecutors than it is to protect the innocent.

Strategic Jury Selection

In the sexual assault litigation domain, the selection of jurors may be the most important part of the entire case. The voir dire process allows the defense and the prosecution to question potential jurors. You want jurors that are fair and lack any bias against you, but in the #MeToo era, jurors are often reluctant to admit to such bias, or even recognize it in the first place because of the strong culture to avoid the cancel culture.

In many cases, the traditional “best” jurors for a criminal defendant are the worst for a sexual assault defendant. Women, democrats, and youthful jurors are often thought to be best for criminal defense cases because of their presumed compassion for the accused. But in sexual assault cases, it is often logic driven men, the elderly, and Republicans that are best on a jury because they will be less compassionate for the accuser and more critical of the prosecution.

If you thought it was important for your attorney to be skilled in their questioning of an alleged victim, it is almost just as important that a sexual assault attorney has the ability to question jurors and provide encouragement and opportunity to admit truths which reflect bias and unfairness. The best defense to a sex case is to start with a favorable jury.