Commonwealth v. Sherry

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

Plaintiff: Commonwealth

Defendant: Sherry and his two companions, the defendants were all doctors and the victim was a nurse. The defendants held a party and throug sequence of many events, the victim ended up at one of the defendant's home. There the defendant's had sexual intercourse with the victim. The defendant's argued that they did not think that they were committing rape because the victim did not resist in any shape or form. The defendants were convicted by the jury of rape.

Issue: Was an error made in the conviction process?

Holding: No

Key Facts: In rape cases, the victim does not have to physically struggle with the rapist in order to show lack of consent.

Legal Reasoning: The court held that there have been no cases in America which show that an honest reasonable mistake in the consent can be considered good defense in rape cases. The court in colclusion stated: "We are aware of no American court of last resort that recognizes mistake of fact, without consideration of its reasonableness as a defense; nor do the defendants cite such authority." So the court ruled that there was no error in the conviction process and the convictions of the three defendants were affirmed.

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