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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Michael M. v. Superior Court
Citation:
450 U.S. 464 (1981)Facts
On June 3, 1978, petitioner Michael M., a 17½-year-old male, and two friends approached Sharon, a 16½-year-old female, and her sister at a bus stop around midnight. After consuming alcohol, Michael and Sharon moved away from the group. Initially, they engaged in consensual kissing, but when Sharon rebuffed Michael’s further advances, he struck her in the face. Sharon then submitted to sexual intercourse. Michael was subsequently charged with statutory rape under California Penal Code § 261.5, which criminalized sexual intercourse with females under 18 but did not punish females for the same conduct. Michael challenged the statute as unconstitutional gender discrimination, but the California Supreme Court upheld it, finding the gender classification was justified by the state’s interest in preventing teenage pregnancies.
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