The Denver Post
2 bills shield identity of rape victims
Wednesday, January 28, 2004 -
Two bills in the legislature would give greater protection to the identities of alleged victims of sexual assault, but some are questioning the measures' constitutionality.
Under the bills, state law - not just court policy - would be violated if the name of an alleged sexual assault victim is made public after a judge has ruled it should be withheld. A person who purposely violated that order could be sanctioned by the court and, under one proposal, sued by the victim. The legislation is scheduled to get its first hearing this afternoon in the Senate. Too many women are retaliated against if they are identified as an alleged sexual assault victim, especially in publicity-intense cases, said the bills' sponsors, Sen. Bruce Cairns, R-Aurora, and Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver. Those high-profile cases include the trial of basketball superstar Kobe Bryant, Air Force Academy assaults, and the alleged rapes of three women who attended a party at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the sponsors said. In the Bryant case, the name of the alleged victim was published on the Internet and in a tabloid newspaper and broadcast on the radio. "America has a disease in its courts, and that disease is 'VT' - victim trashing," Cairns said. "We're encouraging the court to use that authority ... to protect the name (of the victim) so a higher percentage of victims come forward." But civil liberty advocates say the measure infringes on the First Amendment rights to free speech and a free press. David Lane, a Denver civil rights lawyer, said the measures will be declared unconstitutional. It's legal to publish the name of an accuser, Lane said. Allowing victims to sue somebody for publishing their names would have "a chilling effect on the First Amendment." "While it's very politically correct for our legislature to be so hypersensitive to the accuser, the First Amendment doesn't depend on the political correctness of our legislature," he said. Kathy Redmond, founder of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, said she has worked with Cairns to help draft his bill and will testify in support of it today. Cairns' bill goes further than Groff's in a number of respects, including giving alleged victims the right to sue anyone who willfully divulges their names. Redmond said she doesn't think the legislation is unconstitutional; it simply gives better protection to alleged victims. "What we're doing is encouraging the rape victims to come forward because the damage that has been done in this state has set rape reporting back decades," she said. She likened the proposal to protecting the names of juveniles in the court system or national security secrets. Cynthia Stone of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault said she can't say if the bills are constitutional, but her group supports efforts to strengthen protections for alleged victims. "Until our society as a whole learns to treat these victims with the same dignity, fairness and respect it treats a victim of any other crime, then we need to give them the option of keeping their identities private," she said. But Lane, the lawyer, said the court process is an open one and should remain that way even if that means fewer assault victims come forward. "The criminal justice system is not designed to be a pleasant experience for anyone, including the accuser," he said. "It's designed to get to the truth." |