The Defendants is a podcast exploring how sexual assault cases move through the justice system… and why it never seems to work in favour of victims. We want to know what has to change within the system for it to actually work, and we are interrogating what justice means in the aftermath of trauma. This is a podcast where we figure out exactly how this system fails, why, and what to do about it.
In episode 4 we’re looking at what it takes to get a verdict of Guilty or Not Guilty and what it means.
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Key Topics
1:00 - The numbers: 2 guilty verdicts out of 1,000 assaults
1:25 - Guilty vs not guilty: what the terms mean
1:42 - Beyond all reasonable doubt
4:03 - Narratives that can be created around facts
6:04 - What is considered evidence?
7:32 - Why do prosecutors drop cases?
9:04 - The odds of winning sexual assault cases
10:48 - Jury bias, victim performance, trauma from trial
13:27 - Speedy trial law and stayed charges
16:35 - When the legal outcome doesn’t match evidence of harm
Resources:
SA Survivor Resource Document - This document contains Canadian, U.S, and Global sources to find guidance, information, and aid for survivors of sexual assault. Detailed descriptions of each resource within the document.
The following links are core references and sources for this episode.
Women’s Experiences of the Barriers to Reporting Sexual Assault by Alana Prochuk
Criminal justice outcomes of police-reported sexual assault in Canada, 2015 to 2019
Adult criminal courts, number of cases and charges by type of decision
Quote sources:
“2 in 1000” Breakdown: How We Arrived at Our Example
“60 victims will report. 940 will not.”
This number comes from the average of 94% of people not reporting their sexual assaults to the police meaning that only 6% of assaults are reported. 6% of 1000 is 60.
“20 reports will lead to criminal charges.”
Sourced from 33% of cases reported to police on average result in charges.
“4 charges make it to trial. 16 will be dropped by prosecutors”.
In this report, 80% of reports are dismissed. 80% of 20 is 16, 4 remain.
“2 trials will result in a guilty verdict.”
50% of cases that make it to trial get a guilty verdict.
“Guilt, shame, and there’s not a lot of faith in the system (it’s estimated that only 6% of sexual assaults in Canada are reported to police).”
“In 2022/2023 out of 5541 sexual assault cases brought to Canadian prosecutors, 623 resulted in a guilty verdicts, including guilty pleas, 413 resulted in a not guilty verdicts and 4437 were stayed or withdrawn which is 80.07% of cases.”
Integrated Criminal Court Survey, 2022/2023
“Marsha Lederman wrote this article where she said in sex crime trials the legal outcome doesn’t always match the evidence of ugly behaviour.”
Additional References:
Beyond surveys and scales: How rape myths manifest in sexual assault police records by Jessica Shaw; Rebecca Campbell; Debi Cain; Hannah Feeney
A University of Toronto study regarding police investigation related to SA.
A CBC article from 2024 about criminal cases ending before charges are tested in trial.
Three women speak: The trauma of being a victim-survivor in the court system by Neha Kale
The Guardian article
Video Links:
CBS report of a Maryland teacher who is found not guilty on 18 assault counts.
Youtube (CBS News Baltimore): Link
The not guilty verdict of Mario Batali’s sexual assault trial.
Youtube (CBS Boston): Link
The report of Jian Gomeshi’s not guilty verdict.
Youtube (The National): Link
Defense attorney Mike Kruse in his own words about the odds of success in accusations against sexual assault.
Youtube (Kruse Law): Link
The signing of the Rape Shield Law by Lieutenant Governor Diane Primavera.
Youtube (9News): Link
Daniel Sloss comedy special segment about rape culture and men’s role within.
Youtube (NowThis Impact): Link You can also watch the full special on HBO/Crave
Music:
Our theme is Isolation Waltz by Bryan Teoh
Other music appearing in this episode:
Touching Piano Improvisation by unfa
A Dream of a Waltz by Bjorn Lynne
Strings tune-up (harmonics) by camel7695
Full Team:
Jane Aster Roe - Executive Producer, Host
Rachel Arundel - Executive Producer
Katie Jensen - Executive Producer, Editor, Sound Designer
Jessica Strachan - Story Producer
Charlotte Gregg - Research Producer
Isis Madrid - Editor, Sound Designer
Rachel Bromberg - Fact Checker
Dawson Fleming - Production Assistant
Michelle Crossman - Mental Health Consultant
Lindsey Keene - Outreach Coordinator
Cheryl Grossman - Legal
Dalton Higgins - Publicity
Lindsey Keene, Rachel Arundel, Dawson Fleming, and Mackenzie Langdon - Voice Actors
