‘Flawed’ Law Roils Military Justice System

Six years ago, Congress tried cracking down on sexual assault in the military after receiving disturbing reports about incidents in military academies and war zones.  As a result, lawmakers rewrote the rules to protect victims and help prosecutors. However, it’s clear that the effort has backfired. The politically attractive but poorly understood legal changes have caused courtroom confusion, judicial frustration and constitutional conflict.  The rewritten sexual assault law reportedly puts judges “in an impossible position, and with military lawyers also finding it confusing, the result has been unwarranted acquittals. The main problem seems to be caused by the current law shifting the burden of proving consent on the defense rather than requiring the prosecution to prove it as it originally was written. To read more, please go to: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/21/124823/flawed-new-rape-law-roils-military.html#ixzz1Z3tiqr00