I practice law in Maryland. The actual case regarding rape did not state that a woman could not "say no" to sexual intercourse after beginning same. It is still a jailable offense carrying a penalty of up to 10 years in prison under the Maryland assault statute. What the Court of Appeals stated is that the Maryland General Assembly had taken the narrower common-law English definition of rape in its codification of the current rape statute, and that the General Assembly, not the Court of Appeals, was free to redefine that statute.

The Maryland General Assembly is in session almost as we speak; it is more significantly more progressive than it was last session. Feministing readers who would like to see the Maryland rape statute improved - particularly Maryland residents - should get active, particularly with the progressive, pro-feminist delegates from Maryland's sapphire-blue Montgomery County. Oh yeah, we tossed a Republican governor out too.

I would also note that a new Maryland Court Watchers blog is available for summaries of all Maryland appellate cases that are available for free online. You may wish to keep an eye on it for, among other case, the opinion to come on the Deane v. Conaway same-sex marriage case.

Happy New Year to all.

Thanks for posting all these stories in one place. I have a lot of catching up to do

I agree that the media dropped the ball in its coverage of the Duke (non) rape case. I would tend to blame the outlets, however, who rushed to judgment and fueled the fire with mis-information and race-baiting. In particular, I would point out the Durham Herald Sun, the New York Times, the Washington Times, News & Observer (before Joseph Neff emerged as a hero of the case), and The Wilmington Journal. Many television personalities also contributed to the circus, with Nancy Grace and Wendy Murphy emerging as the worst of the bunch.

Note: The rape charge has been dropped, so it probably isn’t appropriate to continue calling this the “Duke rape case�.

Where's Slammy who hasn't posted since Global Orgasm Day? Snigger.

Gettin some methinks.

Mary B - I bet you would like everyone to stop talking about this case. I think you are mistaken in thinking this is a case of men patting themselves on the back and saying the things you attribute to them. I can only speak for myself, but I continue to follow and talk about this case because these players are still under indictment and those who brought on and facilitated this hoax have yet to be punished.

Note: The Talking Points document discussed in the article is littered with factual mistakes (lies?) designed to protect the case, the accuser, and her enablers.

To anyone linking here from the Fox News story by Wendy McElroy –

Ms. McElroy claims Feministing has agreed that the Duke case should no longer be called a "rape" case. As none of the editors of the site have ever written this here, I must assume she is basing this on my comment earlier in this thread (January 3rd). I am not an editor of, nor do I speak for, Feministing. Rather, Feministing allows me to post in the comments section of their site as a reader despite the fact that I disagree with them on many subjects. It’s a shame that this relative tolerance for ideas contrary to their own is being used to misrepresent their views in this way. While I agree with most of what Ms. McElroy says here, and encourage her continue reporting the truth about the Duke Hoax, I hope she will consider changing that particular part of her story.

And now I see they have already taken the Feministing reference off the Fox article. Please disregard the previous post.