Bill > S1751

This bill establishes a "rape shield" law for civil lawsuits involving allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment, aiming to protect victims from irrelevant and prejudicial questioning about their past sexual conduct. Specifically, it requires a party seeking to discover information about the victim's sexual history with individuals other than the defendant to demonstrate good cause, proving the information is relevant to the case and likely to lead to admissible evidence. Furthermore, evidence of the victim's previous sexual conduct cannot be presented to a jury unless the defendant obtains a court order before trial, demonstrating that the evidence is relevant and its probative value outweighs the risk of prejudice, confusion, or invasion of privacy; the court will hold a private hearing to decide on admissibility and will specify exactly what evidence can be introduced and how. The bill also presumes that evidence of a victim's sexual conduct occurring more than a year before the alleged incident is inadmissible, unless proven otherwise, and defines "sexual conduct" broadly to include any behavior related to sexual activities.