Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn

On 6 March 1983, a gang rape took place in Big Dan's Tavern in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The resulting trial convicted four men of aggravated rape, spurring national debate as to whether a woman's independent or compromising behavior made her partially responsible for sexual crimes committed against her.

The aggravated rape of a 21-year-old mother of two had some questioning why the woman was in the bar in the first place. She had been the only female in the establishment, consuming three drinks and flirting. Two men forcibly raped her on the pool table, two others had attempted to force the woman into oral sex, while two other men were acquitted of cheering and restraining the bartender.

The case attracted national interest of women's groups supporting the victim, while others rallied behind the defendants asserting that the woman should have been at home in the first place. Characterized by Susan Brownmiller, author of the landmark book Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, as a "public morality play," the trial was broadcast live on CNN, discussed in op-ed pages and homes across America, and monitored daily by both the Coalition Against Sexist Violence and the Committee for Justice (founded to support the accused).