THE LOOPHOLE MYTH: Voluntary Intoxication is not a Rape Pass

With renewed attention on allegations that a 20-year-old Cornell University student was sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members (the so-called “Cornell 7”), news outlets have reported that a legal “loophole” makes it “nearly impossible” to prove rape in New York when the victim was voluntarily intoxicated. That framing is dangerously misleading. It could lead a victim to believe that if she was drinking before she was raped, her rapist gets a free pass, and that simply isn’t the law. This episode breaks down what the loophole actually covers, what it doesn’t, and the ways New York prosecutors can still prove rape, including first-degree rape, even when the victim was voluntarily intoxicated. It also uses the allegations in Jane Doe v. Cornell University as a hypothetical to show how her alleged assailants could be charged with first-degree rape, even if she voluntarily consumed alcohol and ketamine.