Romeo and Juliet Laws North Dakota

Romeo and Juliet Laws in North Dakota: Protecting Teen Relationships or Endangering Minors?

Like most states, North Dakota has laws against statutory rape – sex between an adult and a minor below the age of consent. But what about situations where the minor is close in age to the adult? Should consensual teen relationships be criminalized? North Dakota has grappled with this issue through its version of so-called “Romeo and Juliet” laws.

What Are Romeo and Juliet Laws?

Romeo and Juliet laws provide defenses or reduced penalties for statutory rape in cases where the participants are close in age. The intent is to avoid punishing consensual teen relationships as harshly as adult-child molestation. But critics argue these laws send mixed messages and fail to protect vulnerable youth.

North Dakota’s Romeo and Juliet Law

North Dakota’s law is contained in Section 12.1-20-05 of state code. It makes it a felony for an adult (someone over 18) to have sex with a minor under 15. However, it’s only a misdemeanor if the minor is between 15-17 and the adult is less than 3 years older. This reduces penalties for relationships like an 18-year-old with a 16-year-old.

Debating the Pros and Cons

Proponents argue Romeo and Juliet laws strike a fair balance. They point out:

• Teen relationships shouldn’t be over-criminalized.
• Close-in-age teens have similar maturity levels.
• These laws focus penalties on actual predators.
• They prevent disproportionate punishment for normal teen behavior.

However, critics counter that Romeo and Juliet laws are misguided. Their concerns include:

• Any statutory rape exception puts minors at risk.
• Even small age gaps can be manipulative.
• Maturity differences matter more than raw age.
• It’s a slippery slope to weaker enforcement.

Looking at Actual Cases

Examining how the laws have played out in practice highlights some of the complexities:

• In State v. Klein, the court upheld an 18-year-old’s conviction for sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend, finding no Romeo and Juliet exception applied.
• But in State v. Leppert, the court reversed a 19-year-old’s conviction for sex with a 15-year-old since they were “peers.”

These mixed rulings show judges have significant discretion on whether to apply Romeo and Juliet protections.

Reform Options

If legislators wanted to revisit the law, here are some options:

• Narrow the close-in-age gap to 1 or 2 years.
• Expand the gap to 4-5 years.
• Make 15 the universal age of consent.
• Get rid of any exceptions and prosecute all statutory rape.

Each approach has different costs and benefits regarding protecting minors versus fairness to young offenders.

Conclusion

There are good-faith arguments on both sides of this issue. Perhaps the core question is whether Romeo and Juliet laws strike the right balance or err too far in favor of leniency over child protection. Reasonable people can disagree on where to draw the line. But lawmakers have an obligation to continually reevaluate the impacts of these laws on vulnerable youth and offenders alike.

Sources

• North Dakota Statutory Rape Laws
• State v. Klein
• State v. Leppert