Roy Black-the attorney best known for successfully defending William Kennedy Smith of rape charges back in 1991-recently wrote an article pointing out the tendency to publicly shame rape defendants. Rape defendants, more than most other types of defendants, often face a relentless stigma, regardless of the outcome of their case.

As Black points out, the loss of reputation associated with such charges is often the enduring public memory regarding rape defendants. Such has been the case, he argues, with David Copperfield, Michael Flatley, Kobe Bryant, the Duke LaCrosse players, and a number of other men who have been accused and subsequently acquitted or otherwise vindicated of rape charges.

The way in which media treatment of the accused factors into the picture was made fairly clear in the recent accusations against French economist Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Strauss-Kahn, according to sources, was accused of raping a housekeeper who came into his hotel suite in New York City back in Mary. According to the 29-year-old woman, Straus-Kahn assaulted her when she came into his room to see if it was ready to clean.

Straus-Kahn was indicted on sexual assault charges on May 18, and pleaded not guilty not long after. The judge in charge of his case ordered that he be confined to a guarded apartment. At the end of June, it came out that the housekeeper had lied to the grand jury about the events surrounding the alleged attack, weakening the case against Straus-Kahn. While that case still remains open, it is already clear that his reputation has suffered considerably, regardless of the outcome.

Rape charges bring with them a very strong negative public opinion and the ability to seriously harm various aspects of the defendant's life, regardless of whether one is found guilty or not.

Source: salon.com, "Why we should protect those accused of rape," Roy Black, 27 July 2011.