CIVILIAN COURT-MARTIAL DEFENSE LAWYERS: Colleges Now Deal with the Blatant Systemic Unfairness the Military has been Dealing with Thanks to Sen. Gillibrand and Allies

Military Defense Lawyer (Former JAG Attorney) News:

The presumption of guilt and gutting the standard of proof necessary to brand an accused a "rapist" or as having committed some form of alleged sexual assault.  This has been the push of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and others in Congress (Sen. McCasKill, Rep. Speier, etc.).  Those who know very little about the reality of the military justice system, or the allegations being raised in the military, pushing for very NON-AMERICAN changes to the system to try to ensure predetermined convictions in military court-martial trials in which allegations of rape and sexual assault are litigated.  

These same misinformed and misguided activists have set their sites on college campuses, and now college campuses are having to deal with this push to make justice or disciplinary systems decidedly UNFAIR for the accused.  

Here is a FoxNews story on what is happening now on college campuses:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/06/17/accused-is-guilty-campus-rape-tribunals-punish-without-proof-say-critics/

Welcome to this new world, American Colleges.  Welcome to the lynch-mob mentality. When will it become a political liability to push for un-American changes to justice systems?

Thank you to Christina Hoff Sommers and others who point out the dangerous road we're traveling down in this country.  Here are some other articles of interest on this topic:

“The College Rape Overcorrection” by Emily Yoffe at Slate.com:

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/12/college_rape_campus_sexual_assault_is_a_serious_problem_but_the_efforts.html

“10 Reasons False Rape Accusations are Common” by Jonathan Taylor at A Voice for Male Students:

http://www.avoiceformalestudents.com/avfms-mega-post-10-reasons-false-rape-accusations-are-common/

“Start by Believing – the Accused” by Col Dan Higgins and Maj Shad Kidd at (Air Force) The Reporter, Volume 41, Issue #2, Page 16:

http://www.afjag.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-141126-035.pdf

“Crying Rape” (False Allegations) by Cathy Young at Slate.com:

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/09/false_rape_accusations_why_must_be_pretend_they_never_happen.html

“Thinking Slow About Sexual Assault in the Military” by Air Force Maj Matthew Burris:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2414494

“The Pentagon’s Bad Math on Sexual Assault” by USMC Capt Lindsay Rodman (military rape/sexual assault statistics):

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323582904578484941173658754

Attorney Edward Greer (the 2% false rape allegation myth):

http://ncfm.org/libraryfiles/Children/rape/greer.pdf

Philip Rumney, of Sheffield Hallam University.  His article appears in the Cambridge Law Journal here (the 2% false rape allegation myth):

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=430299

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:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/20/hendershott-a-flurry-of-sexual-assault-accusations/

Blog post:  http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/03/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_21.html

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:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/26/opinion/jones-sex-consent-texting/

Blog post:  http://militaryadvocate.blogspot.com/2014/02/civilian-court-martial-defense-lawyers_3.html

No one knows how this crusade to “fix” the military justice system will end, but the goal of the crusaders certainly is not justice, nor is it fairness, nor is it supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States.  The goal of the crusaders is prosecution victory.  Period.  That is a very dangerous perspective, and it is one often espoused by enemies of the United States in totalitarian regimes.    

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.  Also, see:

http://militaryadvocate.com/military-offenses/rape-sexual-assault-sodomy/

We offer free consultations for a case you may be involved in.  Just call us.

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 defense law practices are worldwide – we travel to wherever our clients are stationed or serving and need us.