Harvey Weinstein Exiting Court with His Lawyers - NYC 2020
And All Jurors Everywhere!
Without an accurate, enforceable, consent definition, sex crime cases become a victim-blaming crapshoot!— Joyce Short
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, April 16, 2025 /
EINPresswire.com/ -- The word “consent” appears 162 times in New York’s Penal Code. But this pivotal word that jurors rely on to determine guilt or innocence for crimes such as rape, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and more, is not defined. In a recent conversation that took place between Joyce Short, author of "Your Consent, the Key to Conquering Sexual Assault," and CEO of the Consent Awareness Network (CAN), and members of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Sex Crimes unit, the ADAs’ reported that they cannot explain “consent” to jurors in the cases of Harvey Weinstein or Sean Combs (aka Diddy) because they must stick to the letter of the law.
Not satisfied with jurors wearing consent blinders in the deliberation room, CAN released an 8 minute video which explains what consent means and how it should be applied by jurors in sex crime cases. The concepts in the video are consistent with legislative bills #A1140 and #S5521 which are currently pending in New York State.
According to Short: “Without an accurate, consistent definition for consent, jurors lack proper guidance. Both watching our new video,
"What Is Consent For Jurors?", and passing our consent bills, will change that!”
Prosecutors often introduce pattern-of-behavior witnesses that taint the character of the accused and lead to overturned guilty verdicts. Such was the case in the New York Supreme Court’s dismissal of the prior Weinstein verdict. Likewise, the character of the victim should not be the determining factor. Specifically explained in the video, the influence used to secure the person’s compliance to the act is what determines if consent was actually present.
“Without an accurate, enforceable, consent definition, sex crime cases become a victim-blaming crapshoot!” says Short. “Our free, YouTube “defining consent” video, will provide present and future jurors with an important tool to properly weigh evidence when deciding guilt or innocence."
Nina Lucas
Consent Awareness Network (CAN)
+1 917-517-8572
Info@ConsentAwareness.net
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What Is Consent for Jurors?