United States v. Palmer

Opinion of the Court

COX, Judge:

Appellant was convicted of raping and sodomizing his minor stepdaughter.1 The primary issue on appeal concerns the concept of “constructive force.”2

To convict an accused of rape, the prosecution must prove, among other things, that the act of sexual intercourse occurred “by force and without [the] consent” of the victim.3 The military judge *9gave a “standard” instruction on the meaning of force and lack of consent. See infra. In addition, he gave this “tailored” instruction:

Resistance of a victim is a relative term and must be considered in accordance with the…