}anuaiy 27, 2u14

Piesiuent Baiack 0bama

16uu Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, B.C. 2uSuu

Beai Ni. Piesiuent,

0n behalf of suivivois I woulu like to thank you foi youi attention to the ciisis of iape anu
sexual assault in the militaiy, anu youi stateu intention to holu the militaiy accountable foi
this piofounu injustice to the men anu women who seive oui countiy.

"#$%&' () %*) (*+,+-. ,# &#/ %0#/, %- /*.)-, 1%,,)* 2)*,%+-+-. ,# 3+4,+156 2*+3%4&
*+.7,58

While much public attention has been uiawn to the militaiy justice system in the past yeai,
theie has been little uiscussion of the tieatment of Nilitaiy Rules of Eviuence peitaining to
victims' iights to piivacy by the militaiy couits. The misapplication of these iules has a
piofounu impact on victims' expeiience within the militaiy justice system. 0nnecessaiy
violation of victims' piivacy has a chilling effect on victims, anu seives as an extieme
uisincentive fiom paiticipating in the piosecution of theii peipetiatois. We believe this is
an issue that iequiies piesiuential leaueiship, as it uiiectly impacts the ability to piotect
victims' iights anu pievent sexual assault. Auuitionally, this has implications foi the success
of B0B's Special victims' Counsel piogiams, as the ability of victims' counsel to effectively
iepiesent victims to piotect theii iights uepenus laigely on the ability to auequately
enfoice these eviuentiaiy piivileges.

}uuges thioughout the militaiy aie oiueiing the uisclosuie of sensitive anu confiuential
psychotheiapy iecoius of sexual assault victims in violation of the iules of eviuence that
have been establisheu to piotect theii iights.

Nilitaiy Rule of Eviuence ("NRE") S1S gives a patient the piivilege anu iight to pievent the
uisclosuie of any confiuential communication maue between the patient anu his oi hei
psychotheiapist. Sexual assault victims must be able to iely upon this piivilege when
ueciuing whethei to seek counseling oi to iepoit theii assault. Theie aie eight exceptions
to NRE S1S. 0nfoitunately, the eighth exception, when "constitutionally iequiieu", is
unlawfully being useu by militaiy juuges to effectively eliminate the piivilege in its entiiety.
Nilitaiy juuges incoiiectly balance the mateiiality anu piobative value of the eviuence
against the unfaii piejuuice causeu by uisclosuie.

A cuiient example of these unlawful uisclosuies is in the ongoing case of !" $% &'()*'+,-.
/0)*1- 2-34, which involves the sexual assault of Niushipmen L.C. by thiee Naval Acauemy

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football playeis. The abuse suffeieu by L.C. at the hanus of uefense counsel piompteu
Congiess to change how Aiticle S2 investigations aie conuucteu. In this case, militaiy juuge
C0L Baniel Baugheity has oiueieu the uisclosuie of L.C.'s psychotheiapy iecoius foi an '.
5-,46- ieview even though uefense counsel has not maue any showing of how uisclosuie
coulu be constitutionally iequiieu. L.C. has petitioneu (foi extiaoiuinaiy ielief unuei the All
Wiits Act) the Navy-Naiine Coips Couit of Ciiminal Appeals ("CCA") to ieveise C0L
Baugheity's oiuei (biief encloseu). It is anticipateu that the CCA will ueny L.C.s petition
without a heaiing oi even iequiiing a iesponse biief by C0L Baugheity oi the
uefenuant. 0pon the CCA's uenial of ielief, L.C. will petition the Couit of Appeals foi the
Aimeu Foices ("CAAF"). CAAF has uiscietion to ueciue whethei it will ieview the CCA's
uenial. L.C.'s petition uoes not obligate CAAF to ieview the CCA, anu it is oui concein that
CAAF will choose not to giant ieview.

Bowevei, CAAF woulu be obligateu to ieview the CCA's uenial of ielief if the Navy }uuge
Auvocate ueneial ("}Au") vABN Nanette BeRenzi oiueis a ieview. 0CN} Ait. 67, 78& $%
9-)34.:46;, 72 N} S64 (CAAF 2u1S). We anticipate the CCA will ueny L.C.'s petition as soon
as the enu of this week. In the event that L.C. is left with no othei option than to petition
CAAF, we ask that you, as Commanuei in Chief, iequest that vABN BeRenzi oiuei the CAAF
to ieview CCA's uenial. vABN BeRenzi shoulu act immeuiately upon CCA's uenial.

The entiie Bepaitment of Befense, anu vABN BeRenzi in paiticulai, has a vital inteiest in
getting CAAF's ieview. vABN BeRenzi has stateu befoie Congiess, "victim iesponse is
ciitical to enable a victim to begin the healing piocess. The Navy is ueuicateu to ensuiing
victims of sexual assault ieceive piopei anu timely suppoit, to incluue meuical tieatment,
counseling, anu legal assistance."

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0) %+*)$ 2/0;+4;& %-$ /5)$ %.%+-5, ,7)1 +- 4#/*,8

No militaiy juuge oi couit has evei authoieu a wiitten opinion analyzing the
"constitutionally iequiieu" exception to NRE S1S. An analysis of the "constitutionally
iequiieu" exception by the CAAF is neeueu because militaiy juuges anu couits neeu
guiuance to unueistanu anu piopeily implement NRE S1S as the Piesiuent intenueu. When
uiafting NRE S1S, the Piesiuent incluueu the "constitutionally iequiieu" exception as an
acknowleugement that any iule of eviuence is subject to the iequiiements of the
Constitution. While the "constitutionally iequiieu" exception is not explicitly incluueu in
the language of othei piivileges such as NRE Su2 (Lawyei-Client Piivilege), NRE SuS
(Cleigy Piivilege) oi NRE Su4 (Busbanu-Wife Piivilege), each of these piivileges is subject
to a "constitutionally iequiieu" exception. The Constitution takes pieceuence ovei any
conflicting law oi iegulation. Theie is no basis to apply a lessei stanuaiu foi
"constitutionally iequiieu" unuei NRE S1S than what has long existeu unuei NRE Su2, SuS
anu Su4although that is in effect what has occuiieu. Fuithei, NRE S14, (the victim
Auvocate-victim Piivilege was auueu to the NREs only last yeai) incluues an iuentical
"constitutionally iequiieu" exception. In the appenuix of the Nanual foi Couits-Naitial
("NCN"), the }oint Seivice Committee on Nilitaiy }ustices' analysis inuicates the

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"constitutionally iequiieu" exception woulu be satisfieu only in extiaoiuinaiy
ciicumstances. The Committee states:

"The exceptions to Rule S14 aie 5+1+;%* ,# ,7) )=4)2,+#-5 <#/-$ +- >/;) ?@A'
%-$ %*) +-,)-$)$ ,# 0) %22;+)$ +- ,7) 5%1) 1%--)*8 . . . In uiafting the
"constitutionally iequiieu" exception, the Committee intenueu that
communication coveieu by the piivilege woulu be ieleaseu only in the naiiow
ciicumstances wheie the accuseu coulu show haim of constitutional magnituue if
such communication was not uiscloseu. In piactice, this ielatively high stanuaiu
of ielease is not intenueu to invite a <+57+-. )=2)$+,+#- foi possible statements
maue by the victim, noi is it intenueu to be an exception that effectively *)-$)*5
,7) 2*+3+;).) 1)%-+-.;)55."

NCN, App. 22, page A22-46 (emphasis auueu)

Nilitaiy juuges aie ienueiing NRE S1S meaningless by theii oiueis to uisclose piivilegeu
psychotheiapy iecoius without piopei consiueiation of the victims' iights anu a showing
of constitutional haim. Foi this ieason, we believe the CAAF neeus to weigh-in with the
piopei constitutional analysis. The Constitution uoes not iequiie uisclosuie of piivilegeu
communications because withholuing the communications uoes not violate a uefenuant's
6
th
Amenument iight to confiont witnesses oi his S
th
Amenument's iight to uue piocess.

The 6
th
Amenument iight to confiont witnesses is not applicable because it is a tiial iight
anu not a iight to uiscoveiy. <4..)=>$-.'- $% 8'35*'4, 48u 0.S. S9, S1-SS (1987). 0nless the
piosecution intiouuces the iecoius into eviuence oi puts the theiapist on the stanu, the
uefenuant has no iight to confiont anu no iight to uisclosuie.

The S
th
Amenument iight to uue piocess is intenueu to ensuie the uefenuant has equal
access to the infoimation available to the piosecutoi. ?6-(= $% &-6=>-.(, S7S 0.S. 8S
(196S); anu 8'35*'4, 48u 0S S9. Since the piosecutoi uoes not have access to the theiapist's
iecoius, the uefenuant's uue piocess iights aie not implicateu.

Even if a uefenuant's S
th
oi 6
th
Amenuments iights weie implicateu, these constitutional
iights may bow to legitimate goveinmental inteiests. @4>-A-64 $% B-. C6)(->>, 47S 0.S. 67S
(1986). Failuie to iecognize the piivilege woulu entiiely thwait the puipose of NRE
S1S: to facilitate anu secuie the "social benefit of counseling" iecognizeu by /-DD44 $%
84(,0.(, S18 0S 1 (1996). !" $% 9>4,'5E, 6S N} S76 (NNCCA 2uu6). See also, 0CN} Ait. 6b,
Rights of the victim. In auuition to being a legitimate goveinmental inteiest, the NRE S1S
piivilege also enfoices the victim's constitutional iight to piivacy anu to be fiee unuei the
4
th
Amenument fiom an unieasonable goveinmental seaich.

Fuithei, the Supieme Couit has acknowleugeu that in the aiea of militaiy affaiis, couits
must give "paiticulai uefeience" to Congiessional (anu Piesiuential) ueteiminations maue
unuei its authoiity to iegulate the lanu anu naval foices (oi as commanuei-in-chief). F4'))
$% !", S1u 0S 16S (1994). Theiefoie, the uue piocess analysis may uiffei in the militaiy
context compaieu to what woulu be iequiieu in a state oi Aiticle S couit. "}uuicial

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uefeience thus 'is at its apogee' when ieviewing Congiessional uecision making in this
aiea." F4'))% "Congiess has piimaiy iesponsibility foi the uelicate task of balancing the
iights of seivicemen against the neeus of the militaiy." F4'))% Baseu on Supieme Couit
pieceuent, since Congiess has enacteu the laws unuei 0CN} anu the Piesiuent has
piomulgateu iules unuei the RCN anu NRE, theie shoulu be significant uefeience. Since
the Supieme Couit has nevei helu theie was a constitutional iight to uisclosuie of
piivilegeu psychotheiapy iecoius, the militaiy juuge has no basis to oiuei uisclosuie of
piivilegeu infoimation absent tiuly extiaoiuinaiy ciicumstances.

CAAF's guiuance on NRE S1S is neeueu to piotect victims as they seek to heal, to help the
militaiy eiauicate sexual assault, anu to piotect all othei piivileges unuei NRE Su2, SuS,
Su4 anu S14. Continueu uisclosuie of victims' ueeply intimate counseling iecoius is wiong,
anu inflicts anothei piofounu injustice to the men anu women who seive oui countiy.

We uige you to have vABN BeRenzi oiuei CAAF to ieview the CCA's uenial of L.C.'s iights
in L.C. v. C0L Baugheity.

Sinceiely,

Nancy Paiiish
Piesiuent, Piotect 0ui Befenueis

Encloseu: L.C. Petition to CCA in !%"% $% 2-34
Lettei to Navy }uuge Auvocate ueneial ("}Au") vABN Nanette BeRenzi

CC: Befense Secietaiy Chuck Bagel
1uuu Befense Pentagon
Washington, B.C. 2uSu1-1uuu