From: The Honorable Michael R. Turner
Sent By: kelly.repair@mail.house.gov
Bill: H.R. 3360
Date: 11/18/2013

JOIN CONGRESSMAN TURNER AND TSONGAS IN THEIR BIPARTISAN EFFORTS TO PROTECT SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS AND MAKE MEANINGFUL CHANGE TO THE MILITARY’S ARTICLE 32 INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS
H.R. 3360 has been endorsed by the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN)
Cosponsors: Michael Turner, Tsongas, Calvert, Coffman, Duckworth, Joe Heck, Kuster, Pocan, Tim Ryan, Takano
Before serious crimes, such as sexual assault cases, can be referred to general courts-martial in the military justice system, these cases must go though the Article 32 pre-trial investigative process. The proceedings are often presided over by officers who are not attorneys. The current Article 32 process has turned into a “mini-trial” where victims are questioned at length, sometimes on subjects that would not be admissible at trial. Too often in military sexual assault cases, as evident from the recent United States Naval Academy case, survivors of sexual assaults are subjected to irrelevant, grueling and degrading cross-examinations and defense tactics designed to cause embarrassment and intimidate them from participating in the prosecution of these crimes.
It is time to stop putting sexual assault victims on trial. The reforms proposed in this legislation are long overdue and mark another positive and constructive step toward ensuring that survivors of sexual assault are protected from revictimization as they work through the process to have their attackers brought to justice. Recent cases have demonstrated that inadequacies in the current system leave military sexual assault survivors extremely unprotected and exposed to further revictimization and character assassination.
H.R. 3360’s reforms to the Article 32 process:
(1) Limit the scope of the investigation to a probable cause determination of the alleged offense(s);
(2) Require that an experienced judge advocate be assigned as the investigating officer;
(3) Allow the victim of a crime to personally elect not to attend and subject themselves to questioning and cross-examination at the investigatory hearing; and
(4) Establish a governmental discovery requirement to provide certain evidentiary materials and documents to the accused and defense counsel prior to the Article 32 hearing.
If you would like to co-sponsor the Article 32 Reform Bill or have any questions regarding the legislation, please contact Kelly Repair at kelly.repair@mail.house.gov (Rep Turner) or Sara Outterson at sara.outterson@mail.house.gov (Rep. Tsongas).
Sincerely,

Michael R. Turner Niki Tsongas
Member of Congress Member of Congress