Consent Defense

Discuss the two elements required for the consent defense.
In addition, please identify three situations where consent can operate as a legal defense.

Use proper APA formatting and citations, including ‘in-text’ citations.
Reference at least 2 outside credible resources.

ANSWER

Consent Defense

In legal defence, consent is integral, especially for sex crimes such as rape. However, consent can only be a form of valid defense if the victim of a situation chooses to render it. According to the Medal Penal Code, there are two elements required for the consent defense to be regarded as valid. The first element is that the defendant must consent knowingly. This means that the defendant cannot be too young, intoxicated or mentally incompetent (Westen, 2017). If the defendant consents to such conditions, then any evidence rendered shall be considered inadmissible. The second element states that the defendant should consent voluntarily. This means that the defendant should not be threatened, tricked or forced (Westen, 2017). In addition, it is illegal to coerce defendants into a confession without the presence of their lawyer.

In addition, there are three situations where consent can operate as a defense. These include sexual offences, sporting events and situations that do not result in serious bodily harm or death. In a sexual offence case, a defense will be in a better situation to argue that the defendant did not commit any crime as consent was offered during the act (Westen, 2017). However, the defendant is expected to prove that the act was indeed consensual, which would be the highlight of the argument, and challenging to prove. Logically, if a crime dictates that the victim did not offer consent in the finding, while on the other hand, the defendant argues that he did seek consent, then by law, the defendant is not criminally liable for the crime. The district attorney is expected to look for solid and sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant did indeed act without consent for the defendant to be prosecuted.

References

Westen, P. (2017). The logic of consent: The diversity and deceptiveness of consent as a defense to criminal conduct. Routledge.