Under Minnesota consent & alcohol laws, it is unlawful to engage in sexual contact or intercourse with someone drunk or intoxicated to a degree that prevents that person from consenting, understanding, or keeping his or her actions in check. Simply put, you should avoid sexual contact with a person who visibly looks impaired by alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicating substances.
Get an experienced sex crime lawyer on board immediately after a person accuses you. Your lawyer will gather detailed information about you and your case to develop a winning defense strategy. Call (952) 913-1421 for a free, no-obligation consultation with seasoned sex crime lawyers at Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys.
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How Alcohol Affects Sexual Assault Cases in Minnesota
Consent & Alcohol laws is a confusing legal issue in sexual assault cases. That’s why sex crime attorneys in Minnesota often encounter the question: Can I be charged with a sex crime if the other party consents?
Alcohol adds a whole new layer of confusion to sexual assault cases. This is because intoxication can compromise someone’s ability to consent, understand, or take control of his or her behavior. Minnesota consent & alcohol laws deem a person unable to consent to sexual intercourse if the person is too intoxicated to the extent of being incapable of comprehending or controlling his or her conduct.
Consent must be present whether the alleged victim took the alcohol voluntarily or involuntarily. Proving a sexual assault charge where the victim took the alcohol voluntarily is, however, difficult. The prosecution must show the victim could not consent due to his or her level of intoxication. In fact, the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned a felony criminal sexual conduct conviction because the victim had taken alcohol willingly and did not qualify as mentally incapacitated.
How Does Minnesota Define Consent in Alcohol-Related Cases?
Minnesota consent laws require the initiator of intimate contact to obtain clear and voluntary consent from the other party. The initiator may face a sex crime charge if he or she fails to get consent from the other party and proceeds with the sexual contact or intercourse.
Consent is continuous and must be requested at every phase. In other words, the initiator must seek consent from the other party before advancing to the next stage of sexual contact or intercourse. The other party can withdraw consent at any time. What’s more, agreeing to one form of sexual contact does not automatically imply agreeing to other sexual contact.
Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be a key factor in establishing whether the person gave the consent voluntarily and knowingly. Minnesota courts consider various factors when determining the presence or absence of consent in alcohol-related sexual assault cases. These factors include:
- The Degree of Impairment: The court will assess the level of impairment of the alleged victim at the time of the incident. The objective is to determine if the victim understood what was happening and could make a sound decision.
- The Unique Circumstances of the Incident: The court will evaluate where and how the alleged sexual assault incident happened. It will assess whether the victim took the alcohol voluntarily or involuntarily. It will also consider the existence of a prior relationship and its effect on consent.
- Actions and Communications Between the Two Parties: The court will determine whether there was communication between the alleged victim and perpetrator. Specifically, it will assess if the alleged victim gave consent verbally or non-verbally.
- Pressure or Manipulation: Consent will be deemed present if the complainant consented without pressure, coercion, or emotional manipulation.
Your criminal defense attorney in Minnesota will examine your situation, explain what a sex crime is, and determine if the prosecution has grounds to charge you with the same. The attorney will then discuss your available options for fighting the charges so that you can make an informed decision.
What If Both Parties Were Drinking?
The fact that both parties were drinking does not automatically imply no crime happened, but it makes the sexual assault case more complex. Minnesota law pays more attention to the alleged victim’s ability to give consent and the alleged perpetrator’s knowledge of that ability.
A person who is too intoxicated to the extent of becoming physically helpless cannot give legal consent. However, the prosecution must demonstrate that the alleged perpetrator was aware or should have been aware of the alleged victim’s inability to consent. In such a situation, your lawyer will focus on ensuring the prosecution does not prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If your lawyer succeeds, the court will dismiss your charges and acquit you.
The case may concentrate on other factors like pressure, threat, or emotional manipulation if both parties could consent despite impairment.
How a Lawyer Can Defend You if the Alleged Victim Was Drunk
Sex crime charges where the alleged victim was drunk can cause irreversible damage to virtually every aspect of your life, including freedom, career, family, reputation, and finances. Fortunately, a seasoned sex crime lawyer can mount an effective defense to have the charges dismissed or reduce the consequences of a conviction. Your lawyer can defend you in the following ways if the alleged victim was drunk:
Provide You With Legal Guidance and Support During the Investigation Phase
A sex crime lawyer is a crucial resource at every stage of the criminal justice process. You don’t have to wait until you get arrested or charged with sexual assault to get a lawyer involved. Instead, hire a lawyer soon after a person alleges that you sexually assaulted that person when the person was too drunk.
Your lawyer will guide you on what to do if accused of a sex crime. The lawyer will also advise you on your constitutional rights, such as the right to stay silent and to be protected from unlawful searches and seizures.
Obtaining appropriate legal advice before the prosecution formally charges you can keep you from disclosing self-incriminating information during an investigation. It can also prevent law enforcement officers from violating your rights when arresting you or searching and seizing your property.
Identifying and Building the Best Defense Strategy for Your Unique Legal Situation
A sex crime defense lawyer will take you through all the available defenses against sexual assault where the alleged victim was drunk. The lawyer will then tailor the best defense to the facts and circumstances of your criminal case. The common defenses in sexual assault cases where alcohol is involved include:
- Alibi: Asserting innocence is one of the most common and straightforward defenses against any criminal offense. You do not have to prove your innocence. Instead, the prosecution must prove you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. An alibi defense involves arguing that you were in a different location when the alleged sex crime happened. You then support your alibi with compelling evidence, such as hotel receipts, time-stamped surveillance footage, hotel receipts, and bank statements.
- Mistaken Identity: You may also claim that the alleged victim misidentified you. You then back your claim with DNA evidence showing that you were not the offender at the sexual assault scene.
- Consent Defense: Your defense team may argue that the alleged victim provided clear and voluntary consent but is currently lying. Your team may support this argument by citing the victim’s motives, like trying to salvage a relationship or obtain monetary compensation through a civil suit. An expert witness testimony from a toxicologist or an emergency doctor can demonstrate that the alleged victim’s intoxication level did not render the victim incapable of consenting.
- Blackout Defense: This defense involves showing that the alleged victim consented to the sexual contact or activity but forgot because of a high degree of impairment at the time of the alleged crime. The objective is to depict the incident as drunken sex rather than rape. Jurors may find the blackout defense convincing as it does not mock the victim but exposes the victim as mistaken. Your lawyer will attempt to show that the victim blacked out and missed a significant amount of time. The lawyer may call you to testify on the events immediately before and after the incident.
Plea Deal Negotiations
A plea deal allows you to avoid harsh criminal penalties, especially when the prosecution has compelling evidence against you and a conviction is certain. Your lawyer can work out a deal with the prosecution and the judge to lower the severity of your charges. You may, for instance, enter a guilty plea to a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
It is essential to note that a guilty plea to any sex-related crime carries serious hidden consequences. These consequences may include sex offender registration, employment termination, and damaged reputation.
At Keller Criminal Defense Attorneys, our sex crime lawyers are ready to defend you aggressively if you are facing an alcohol-related sexual assault charge. Contact us today to set up a free consultation.
