Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County - Significance, The California Supreme Court's Ruling, The U.s. Supreme Court's Ruling

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County - Significance

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County - The California Supreme Court's Ruling

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County - The U.s. Supreme Court's Ruling

Appeal of this decision was taken to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court voted 5-4 to uphold the statute, but the majority could not agree on the reasons for doing so (this is called a plurality opinion). The Court stated that California's statutory rape law did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Rehnquist announced the Court's decision and Justices Brennan,…

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County - Dissenting Opinion

A dissenting opinion by Justice Brennan stated that Rehnquist's opinion placed too much emphasis on California's goal of preventing teenage pregnancy and not enough emphasis on whether the discrimination on the basis of sex was warranted and related to that goal. The dissenters argued that the state did not provide enough evidence to establish the legitimacy of its goal (preventing teenage pregnan…

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County - Implications

The Court's opinion is significant because it gives an extraordinary amount of weight to a state's after-the-fact assertion of the original reason it enacted the statute. Additionally, though the statute may not have been carefully drawn at the outset, the Court determined that the resulting legal action was appropriate and legitimate. The overall legitimacy of the goal, and the relationship of th…

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County - When The Rapist Isn't A Stranger

In the popular perception, rape is a crime most often between strangers: for instance, a lone woman is walking down a dark alley, where she is accosted by an assailant she has never seen before and will never see again unless he is caught. This view, however pervasive it may be, is inaccurate, as has become clear through increasing societal awareness of date rape and acquaintance rape--not to ment…