Another voice in the abyss (that being
the public narrative about rape and sexual assault court-martial allegations in
the military justice system, UCMJ Article 120)...
Air Force JAG Major Matthew Burris
has written a scholarly article entitled "Thinking Slow About Sexual
Assault in the Military" to be published in the Buffalo Journal of Gender,
Law, and Social Policy. It can be accessed here (click on "Download
This Paper" button to download the entire article):
In his paper, Maj Burris challenges
the public narrative about the "epidemic" of rape and sexual assault
in the military and the "failures" of the military justice system to
appropriately address this "crisis." He advocates what is
referred to as "slow thinking" to combat the incorrect assumptions at
the heart of the public narrative.
As I stated in public commentary to
the article:
"I think it’s interesting that
this article was written by an Air Force Judge Advocate, only because the
recently departed USAF TJAG appeared to me to either be one of the “fast
thinkers” or was, at least, willing to largely accept the narrative of the fast
thinkers – as are so many others in the highest ranks and levels in the DoD and
government. Good for Maj Burris, but I’m guessing a link to this paper
won’t end up on the USAF TJAG’s website…they have to keep room for more links
to “significant sexual assault convictions” “the success of the SVC program”
and other items that feed the narrative of the “fast thinkers.” Maj
Burris’ standard disclaimer that the “views expressed in the article are those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of
the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government” could, sadly,
not be more true."
Nevertheless, I applaud Major Burris
for addressing a hot topic from an unpopular perspective. Below, I want
to compile some others who have taken a public stand on the topic of the wildly
inaccurate public narrative about alleged sexual assaults in the military and
the handling of military rape and sexual assault cases in the military justice
system, including court-martial trials/results:
USMC Capt Lindsay Rodman (military
rape/sexual assault statistics):
Attorney Edward Greer (the 2% false
rape allegation myth):
Philip Rumney, of Sheffield Hallam University. His article appears
in the Cambridge Law Journal here (the 2% false rape allegation myth):
Professor Anne Hendershott, who teaches sociology and is the Director of the Veritas
Center for Ethics in Public Life at the Franciscan University of Steubenville,
Ohio. Her article appears in the Washington Times, here:
Roxanne
Jones, who is a founding editor of “ESPN The Magazine” and a
former Vice President at ESPN. She is a national lecturer on sports,
entertainment and women's topics and a recipient of the 2010 Woman of the Year
award from Women in Sports and Events. Her insightful CNN editorial about
false rape allegations generally can be found here:
Maj
Gen Charles Dunlap, who is the former USAF DJAG. His paper can be found
here:
A
discussion of that paper can be found here:
Charles
"Cully" Stimson, who is with the Heritage Foundation. His paper can
be found here:
While there are other
authors/articles along these lines, their voices are drowned out by the masses
- Congress, the President, military leadership, DoD and government officials,
advocacy groups, the press, and the public. How can the public narrative
be so slanted?
For more information about the
military justice system, particularly cases alleging rape and/or sexual assault
in violation of UCMJ Article 120, type "rape" or "sexual
assault" into the search bar above the blog posts. See also:
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Thank you.
By: Attorney Richard V. Stevens
Civilian criminal defense lawyer and military defense lawyer
Military Defense Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens, P.C.
http://www.militaryadvocate.com
Blog
postscript: Attorney Frank J. Spinner and I (attorney Richard V. Stevens) are
former active duty military lawyers (JAG). Our perspectives and advice,
therefore, are based upon our experience as military defense lawyers and as
civilian criminal defense lawyers practicing exclusively in the area of
military law and military justice. This blog addresses issues in military law,
military justice, military discipline, military defense, court-martial
practice, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and other military and/or
legal topics. Nothing posted in this blog should be substituted for legal
advice in any particular case. If you seek legal advice for a particular case,
please contact The Law Offices of Richard V. Stevens and The Law Office of
Frank J. Spinner for a free consultation. These military defense law offices
are located in Northern Florida (Pensacola, Ft Walton, Destin, Eglin AFB,
Hurlburt Field, Duke Field, Panama City, Tyndall AFB areas) and Colorado
Springs, Colorado (FT Carson, Peterson AFB, Air Force Academy, Schriever AFB,
Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Buckley AFB areas), but our military
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