The use and abuse of counseling records in sexual assault trials: Reconstructing the “rape shield”?

Abstract

T he common law of rape traditionally viewed the complainant's reputation for sexual license and her sexual history as relevant both to her credibility as a witness and to the issue of consent) In Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the rules of evidence and procedure have been modified in recent years to restrict the way in which the defense can seek to undermine the credibility of