In 1982 Montgomery County, MD, attempted rape was a misdemeanor,

[pnwmom]

with a 1 year statute of limitations.

No wonder BK felt so entitled. And no wonder these men feel so aggrieved at the possibility that they could be judged from the perspective of 2018.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-kavanaugh-ford-fbi-clues-20180928-story.html

In a letter, the police chief and state attorney in Montgomery County, where the assault allegedly occurred, said they would not investigate the incident without a complaint from Ford. They also noted they could do little to prosecute such a case — assault and attempted rape were misdemeanors in 1982 and subject to a one-year statute of limitations.

[mythology]

1. It's sad how little we as a society have valued women for so long

In 1981, Maryland still had an exclusion in rape statutes that a husband couldn't legally speaking, rape his wife.

But it's not like we're perfect now. In 2017 Maryland passed a law that made it so rape victims didn't have to prove they fought back to get the assailant charged.

[samnsara]

2. i heard ..somewhere else.. that there was NO state statute of limitations...

..perhaps that was for rape..

[pnwmom]

5. There is no longer any statute of limitations for rapes committed NOW. But if a sexual assault

was committed in the past, the statute that was in effect at the time of the assault is what applies.

[eleny]

3. This is about deciding if he's fit to serve us on the SCOTUS

Now we have to hope that a majority of U.S. Senators rely on a different standard from 1982 Montgomery County law.

[Flaleftist]

4. Maybe that would limit Judge's concerns about admitting his involvement.

And IIRC correctly, from Ford's testimony about the event in question, Judge didn't try to rape her. He actually tried to discourage Brett. He jumped on the bed they all fell off and she got away. Maybe the jumping on the bed was a way to give her the opportunity to escape without physically getting into an altercation with Brett. That could at least be his defense.

[triron]

6. How about false imprisonment?

[pnwmom]

7. Or kidnapping. That did make it more serious! n/t

[Solomon]

9. I don't know why people insist on trying to limit

the crime. He could be charged with kidnapping which indeed is a felony.

[mythology]

13. I don't think anyone here is trying to diminish the crime

More recognizing how recently it was considered such a little thing by society at large.

[enough]

8. K&R. NT

[Johnny2X2X]

10. Date Rape

The term date rape didn’t come into existence until 1987.

The implication being that if you were on a date with someone then whatever they did to you was not going to be called rape.

[pnwmom]

11. I was wondering about the year. Thanks. I remember when my close friend

in college was raped by a guy she'd gone out with, and she struggled to figure out what had happened to her. The concept of date rape did not yet exist.

Words matter.

[Blue_true]

12. That is insane. Being caught with a joint back then likely meant prison on felony charges.

Sort of backwards.