Case brief summary
A person commits second degree rape by having sex with someone through force or threats, against their will. If a victim didn't fight back, a jury can decide if she reasonably feared serious harm, which counts as force.
Facts
Pat met Rusk at a bar and agreed to drive him home as a favor. At his apartment he took her car keys, and she said she went upstairs with him because she was scared and did not know what else to do. Inside, she said she begged to leave, cried, and that he lightly choked her before she gave in to oral sex and intercourse, after which he returned her keys and let her leave.
Procedural history
A jury convicted Rusk of second degree rape. An appeals court reversed, saying there wasn't enough evidence of force or fear. The State asked Maryland's highest court to review that decision.
Issue
Was there enough evidence for a jury to reasonably find that Rusk used force or threats and that Pat didn't consent, so the conviction shouldn't have been overturned?
Holding
The court held that there was enough evidence for a jury to find Rusk guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, reversed the Court of Special Appeals, and reinstated the jury's conviction.
Reasoning
The court said that whether Pat's fear was reasonable, and whether Rusk's actions (taking her keys, his tone and look, pulling her to the bed, and choking her) amounted to force or a threat of force, were factual questions for the jury, not something appeals judges should second guess. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational jury could have believed Pat's account and found both force and lack of consent.