7.15.15: Statute of Limitation Laws, Party Crashers, and Stowaways

Just about every creation of comedian Bill Cosby's has become radioactive in light of accusations of rape and assault by nearly 50 women. Yet, only one of those alleged assaults can still be prosecuted, due to statute of limitation laws that prevent older cases from going to trial. On today's show, we talk about statute of limitation laws, to better understand the sexual assault cases against Bill Cosby. Then, a look at the first use of the "PMS Defense" in a court of law. And finally we discuss how for one woman, party crashing led to a career as a writer, talk show host, and activist -- but for another type of crasher, the story takes a much different turn.

Listen to the full show. 

David Ruoff is a trial attorney with Howard & Ruoff in Manchester, New Hampshire, and president-elect of the NH Bar Association. He joined us to talk about statute of limitation laws, especially where they pertain to the sexual assault cases against Bill Cosby.

In this episode of the podcast Criminal, Phoebe Judge takes a look at the first use of the "PMS Defense," back in 1981. You can listen to the story again at prx.org.

Most people don't mingle with the rich and famous. But if you're quick enough on your feet, and brazen enough to sneak past security guards, you may stand a chance. Charlotte Laws wrote about her experiences as a long-time celebrity party crasher for Gawker, and is the author of a new memoir called Rebel In High Heels. 

Joe Eskenazi is senior editor at San Francisco Magazine, where he wrote an article about serial stowaway Marilyn Harman, who has been apprehended at airports across the country for sneaking onto flights. While the story has been low-hanging fruit for TV-news, little has been done to understand what's behind her compulsive attempts to take flight.

In this story, Dorthy Hayes tells her son about being an airline stewardess in the 1940s. You can listen to the story again at StoryCorps.org.