Supreme Court Overturns Military Court: Ends Statute of Limitations on Military Rape Cases
In a unanimous vote of 8-0, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the United States in U.S. v Briggs. The decision means that the military will now be able to prosecute cases of sexual assaults committed between 1986 and 2006. The ruling overturns a loophole that applied a five-year statute of limitations on military sexual assault cases that occurred before 2006.
At the center of the case were three air force men who were charged with rape five years after the crimes had taken place. But in 2018, the three men, Lt. Col. Michael Briggs, who raped a service member in 2015, Lt. Col. Humphrey Daniels, who raped a woman in 1998, and Master Sgt. Richard Collins, who raped an airman in 2000, all had their convictions dismissed after the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces cited the statute of limitations.
The Supreme Court heard U.S. v. Briggs in October of this year to decide whether or not the men's convictions should have been dismissed and unanimously decided that the five-year statute of limitations does not apply to military rape cases and convictions that happened before 2006.
Justice Alito wrote the opinion, and Justice Gorsuch added in a short concurring opinion, “I continue to think this court lacks jurisdiction to hear appeals directly from the CAAF. But a majority of the court believes we have jurisdiction, and I agree with the Court’s decision on the merits. I therefore join the Court’s opinion.
Ruling Sparks Hope for Rape Victims
Protect our Defenders, an organization that helps victims of military sexual assault, expressed their elation at the court's unanimous ruling. The president of Protect our Defenders, Colonel Don Christensen, U.S. Air Force (ret.) shared that the Supreme Court's ruling was a “huge win for military rape survivors,” and that “Justice has been restored for three survivors and hope has been restored for countless others,” he said.
In data compiled by Protect our Defenders, research shows that although rape cases have increased in the military by at least 22% since 2015, prosecution of rape cases has declined by 60% during the same time frame.
Harmony Allen was a victim of both rape and assault by Sgt. Richard Collins. With the support of Protect our Defenders, Allen expressed her satisfaction with the decision, sharing that a unanimous ruling reiterated the importance of justice for rape victims. She shared with CNN, "Having an 8-0 unanimous panel speaks volumes to how seriously this country is taking the stance against rape in the military.”
Regarding the original conviction that was later dismissed, Allen also expressed, "Going through the trial and having him get out made me feel worse than going through the actual rape, because I had to relive the rape and gruesome details to a court full of strangers. To put yourself through that and then have the military say, 'that's great that that happened, but we're going to let him go free,' and just trying mentally to deal with that -- it's been impossible to heal from the rape. With him going back and with the country standing behind rape victims, I think this is going to bring healing to me and a lot of other victims."
The unanimous ruling comes on the heels of a string of allegations against the armed forces, with the most notable being the case of Army specialist Vanessa Guillén. Guillén was a victim of harassment and eventually went missing, only to be found murdered in a shallow burial months after her disappearance.
Her case sparked national outrage at the mistreatment of victims of harassment and sexual assault in the armed forces. After Guillén's case gained national attention following her disappearance, her family and attorney quickly went up the chain of command and were able to meet with President Trump about their disdain for the treatment of Guillén and other members of the armed services.
Proponents and organizations in support of rape victims hope this new ruling will bring forward past victims and deter these types of crimes from happening in the future. A case of this nature that has resulted in clear support of rape victims is the first of its kind during the #MeToo Movement.
