We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
JANIE'S GOT A GUN (AND NO OTHER OPTION): THE HARSH REALITY FOR BATTERED WOMEN CLAIMING DURESS IN FEDERAL COURT.
- Authors
May, Addison
- Abstract
A profound and long-standing circuit split exists regarding the admissibility of expert testimony of battering and its effects to support claims of duress. However, tension among the federal circuits grew stronger in 2021 with the Seventh Circuit's decision in United States v. Dingwall. For years, many courts and legal scholars have reasoned that expert testimony of battering sheds light on the defendant's actions, which thereby allows her to fully present the elements of her duress defense. The Fifth Circuit, along with few other federal courts, currently abides by its inveterate precedent that expert testimony of battering and its effects is inherently subjective and that any history of a pattern of abuse is irrelevant to a battered woman asserting a duress defense. However, expert testimony of battering and its effects is everything but irrelevant to a claim of duress. This expert testimony demonstrates to the fact finder how the pattern of abuse alters a woman's psychological perceptions to such a degree that she feels there is no other viable option but to commit the crime. Though largely accepted by federal courts to support claims of self-defense, courts continue to grapple with permitting this testimony in the context of duress claims, though both defenses closely parallel each other. Expert testimony of battering and its effects assists in explaining and comprehending the elements of duress just as it does in self-defense scenarios. Additionally, the Fifth Circuit's refusal to permit battering testimony in duress instances is in direct contravention of its prior use of similar testimony by the government in cases involving sex and human trafficking crimes. Most importantly, however, is that the outright exclusion of battering testimony in duress cases continually fails to recognize the reality of domestic violence and the real, adverse impacts it can have on a woman's psychological state. Permitting this testimony allows laypeople to not only be properly informed about the entirety of the defendant's situation but also destigmatizes the misconceptions that continue to surround battered women in and outside of the courtroom context. In light of the Dingwall decision, courts must consider this expert testimony so long as proper procedural safeguards and parameters are established and met.
- Subjects
DURESS (Law); BATTERING (Abuse)
- Publication
Texas Tech Law Review, 2022, Vol 55, Issue 1, p249
- ISSN
0564-6197
- Publication type
Article