Brief Fact Summary. Defendant was charged with rape and sodomy in the first degree. Victim was his wife that he was separated from per court order. State statute excluded from the definition of rape, intercourse between husband and wife.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. The marital exception to rape has no current justification and is eliminated.
A statute which treats males and females differently violates equal protection unless the classification is substantially related to the achievement of an important governmental objective.
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