Social control of sexual assault by physicians and lawyers within the professional relationship: Criminal and disciplinary sanctions

Two penal sanctions may be imposed judicially on physicians and lawyers who are alleged to have sexually assaulted their patients and clients. Appellate opinions in each state reporting such a case were examined from 1980 through June, 1993, and generalizations from those opinions are reported here. In each profession, the administrative/disciplinary sanction imposed by the professional association may offer a stronger means of social control than does the criminal sanction. The efficacy of the disciplinary sanction, relative to the criminal, is attributable to the facts that the burden of proof is easier to meet and defenses commonly raised in sexual assault cases are not available in disciplinary proceedings. The significance of this pattern is discussed in relation to Black’s theory of the behavior of law, specifically with respect to the manner in which the style of social control is influenced by stratification, the relational distance between the parties, and organization. An earlier version of this article was presented at the National Conference on Ethics and the Professions, Gainesville, Florida, January 31, 1992. The author extends thanks to colleagues and the anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier draft.