Marital rape : the misunderstood crime

Concern over the marital rape exemption has definitely increased in state judiciaries - unfortunately this does not equally apply to the state legislatures. Rape within marriage has been legally endorsed for more than one hundred years in America and to date, in most of the states this behaviour is legally protected, making the marital rape exemption the rule rather than the exemption I despite the twentieth century's enlightened views of marriage and female equality. Statistics are alarming, but appalling as they might sound, they seem to fail to persuade some who refuse to believe there is such a crime as marital rape. : Increased awareness about rape has come about as women have gained more equality and as women's groups have strived to bring the public's attention to the fact that rape is not caused by the woman herself, but is the result of violence committed upon her by a violent person. It is precisely because of this long-standing and erroneous belief that rape is a sexual rather than a violent crime that it has been extremely difficult for legislatures, juries and the courts to deal rationally with the subject. This paper will analyze: ( 1) the history of the marital rape exemption and the common law authority thereto, including a critique of the theories that have served to justify it, (ii) marital rape as a social_ crisis in America, (III) statutory and judiciary responses, (IV) constitutional considerations, and (V) possible statutory reforms.peer-reviewe

A review of crimes against the administration of justice

The crimes which we will discuss fall into the wide class of offences against the public administration which more particularly impede or interfere with the proper administration of justice. These crimes are dealt with in our code in Sec 99 to 110; the salient offences being: 1. calumnious accusation; 2. simulation of an offence; 3. perjury; 4. retraction; 5. false swearing. In the course of the discussion we will refer to the writings of Italian jurists which have laid the foundations of these sections in our code.peer-reviewe

Human Cytomegalovirus Induces TGF-β1 Activation in Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells after Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is associated epidemiologically with poor outcome of renal allografts due to mechanisms which remain largely undefined. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), a potent fibrogenic cytokine, is more abundant in rejecting renal allografts that are infected with either HCMV or rat CMV as compared to uninfected, rejecting grafts. TGF-β1 induces renal fibrosis via epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal epithelial cells, a process by which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal characteristics and a migratory phenotype, and secrete molecules associated with extracellular matrix deposition and remodeling. We report that human renal tubular epithelial cells infected in vitro with HCMV and exposed to TGF-β1 underwent morphologic and transcriptional changes of EMT, similar to uninfected cells. HCMV infected cells after EMT also activated extracellular latent TGF-β1 via induction of MMP-2. Renal epithelial cells transiently transfected with only the HCMV IE1 or IE2 open reading frames and stimulated to undergo EMT also induced TGF-β1 activation associated with MMP-2 production, suggesting a role for these viral gene products in MMP-2 production. Consistent with the function of these immediate early gene products, the antiviral agents ganciclovir and foscarnet did not inhibit TGF-β1 production after EMT by HCMV infected cells. These results indicate that HCMV infected renal tubular epithelial cells can undergo EMT after exposure to TGF-β1, similar to uninfected renal epithelial cells, but that HCMV infection by inducing active TGF-β1 may potentiate renal fibrosis. Our findings provide in vitro evidence for a pathogenic mechanism that could explain the clinical association between HCMV infection, TGF-β1, and adverse renal allograft outcome