The Most Popular Post I've Ever Written
by: Ryan • July 19, 2012 • no comments
This one isn't even close. Of all the posts I've written, Ryan here has gotten more hits than any other.
It's a topic I've touched on a number of times since, but not recently. I've been waiting for the Oregon Supreme Court to issue an opinion in State v. Ofodrinwa, the case that prompted the rant in the first place. Oral argument was in January, 2012.
This issue is symptomatic of the larger problem with criminal justice. No one is responsible for the damage we do. By making it a felony to have otherwise consensual sex with a 17 year old, we -- meaning Oregon as a whole -- do real damage to the lives of young people who aren't in any way a danger. Where the majority of states have an age of consent of 17 or younger, by making a 21 year old who has sex with a 17 year old both a felon and a registered sex offender Oregon bizarrely punishes what most states don't even consider criminal.
But the Court of Appeals isn't at fault because they're just doing their best to interpret an ambiguous statute. The legislature isn't at fault because they made sex with a 17 year old a misdemeanor (contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor) and it's the COA who misintrepeted the law. Prosecutors aren't at fault because it's their job to prosecute, not decide what the law should be. (By the way, prosecutors who do this kind of damage but disclaim any responsibility because "they don't make the rules" might be familiar to anyone who has seen this clip from Five Easy Pieces.) No one is at fault, but the pointless damage is very real.
By the way, if you've liked the recent run of "forgotten favorites," you can find all of my most notable posts a dozen posts .
