From a Nebraska County Courtroom to the United States Supreme Court

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:39:01 -0400

It is difficult to understand what goes on in many a courtroom, primarily because Latin, a dead language, seems to come alive once again – but this is old hat to lawyers who sometimes seem to speak the language as fluently as Caesar himself. But one thing is clear by lawyers and non-lawyers alike, filing a case in the United States Supreme Court is a very big deal and an arduous process. Here’s how my case went from a small Nebraska courtroom to the United States Supreme Court in Washington DC .
It began in an Emergency Room on October 31st, 2004 where I explained to a police officer that I had been raped. The officer asked, “Do you want to press charges?” and my reply was, “yes.” About two years later the first trial began against Pamir Safi, the man who raped me, (and who had been previously accused of the same crime by two other women). During my trial, the Judge forbade me to use certain words, such as “rape”, “victim”, and “sexual assault kit” to explain what happened to me. As you can imagine it was difficult for a jury to reach a verdict. In fact, the jury was not even aware that the Judge ordered me not to use certain words in my trial. The first trial ended in a hung jury, with more jurors in favor of a conviction.
The prosecution thought that they had a good chance of retrying the case and getting a favorable outcome due to more jurors wanting to convict Pamir Safi during the first trial. The State of Nebraska began their preparations to try the case against Pamir Safi once again in July of 2007. However the language ban was now so strict that the Judge even threatened me with contempt and incarceration if I failed to obey the laundry list of words, all which I would normally use in describing my rape. The Judge requested that I sign an order, stating that I would abide his language ban. I refused to sign the language ban, and was outraged by such an un-American way of justice. The words that were banned were the only words I could use to accurately portray what happened to me. It was as if the Judge was ordering me to commit perjury. The public was understandably outraged as well. The media reported, protesters gathered, speeches were given, petitions were signed and the Judge stood strong next to the language ban. The July 2007 trial was a mistrial before testimonies even began. The Judge cited the media coverage as a reason to grant yet another mistrial.
My pro bono attorney, Wendy Murphy, filed a motion to explain to the Judge that he had no authority to forbid me to use certain words during the trial to describe my personal experience as a rape victim. The Judge ignored my lawyer so she then filed an appeal with the Nebraska Supreme Court. The Nebraska Supreme Court ignored her too without any explanation. Tenaciously, Wendy filed a complaint in the Federal court, though later dismissed (and still on appeal) nevertheless provoked the Federal Judge to declare that forbidding a rape victim to use the word rape was “profoundly disturbing” and reminiscent of the kinds of things we hear about from countries where women wear burkas.
While Wendy Murphy continued to fight the language ban in the federal courts, the State of Nebraska had to drop the case without prejudice, (which means they can file charges again). The state’s words, witnesses, and motions were all taken away leaving too much evidence banned from the courtroom for the state to continue to pursue Pamir Safi (mind you they can be reinstated). Further efforts at the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals were also unavailing as the court ruled that the case against the Judge was moot after the state prosecutor withdrew the underlying criminal case against Pamir Safi. The media coverage regarding my case led prosecutors nationwide to speak out about what they described as a growing national trend and a serious problem of Judges ordering victims in all kinds of cases to use only certain words during their trials.
Which brings us up to the present day – we have now filed in the United States Supreme Court, the Nation’s highest court. Wendy Murphy made a simple, yet critically important point that all people have a right to testify fully and truthfully in a court of law. Without unrestricted testimony, a jury is unable to determine the truth – and justice simply CANNOT be served. Take my case as an example. I was not allowed to use the word rape, but the Judge did rule that all witnesses can refer to my painful rape as “sex” and “intercourse” – these words convey to the jury just the opposite of what I went through.
The importance of the brief that Wendy has filed is imperative, for it is our last outlet with the courts. Many have fought hard every step of the way and have issued a tremendous amount of support over the past four years. I hope to not only achieve justice against Pamir Safi, but to help victims everywhere understand that they, too, have the right to tell the truth – the WHOLE truth – and nothing but the truth. Wendy Murphy’s brief does exactly that. The legal brief that now rests at the United States Supreme Court is far deeper than my case, it represents every victim whose trial is pending and every victim from this day on to step forward onto the legal battlefield.
Win or lose, we fought hard. If nothing else, I hope this case sheds insight to a very serious issue in courtrooms across America where victims are being issued language bans. Free speech is for the victims as much as it is for the defendants. Free speech should be upheld the most in courtrooms, the arena where law is handed down. This is the utmost American issue that our country was founded on. If a decision is not reached in the Supreme Court, I can assure you that I will not be the last vocal victim. Victims everywhere will refuse to obey language bans – for it is an egregious obstruction of justice because it shrouds the truth.

If you would like to donate to help pay the United States Supreme Court filing fee for this case. Please visit www.BowenDC.com

PASS THE BULLET PROOF VEST, PLEASE

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:48:34 -0400

I have been asked to speak on several occasions about rape prevention. As much as I would like to fill an hour or two about how to prevent rape I honestly have nothing to say on the subject except, you cant you can only change the way the justice system handles those who commit the crime.

As much as people pass out whistles to blow (literally whistles that say know
before you go as if blowing a whistle is going to stop a rape from happening), or
teach self defense tactics to prevent rape, or tell you never to walk alone rape
really cannot be prevented. It can happen at any point, at any time, to anyone,
anywhere. Obviously, with life in general be safe. But if you really want to
prevent rape here are ways to avert it from happening to you: dont drink, (not
even water because date rape drugs can disintegrate in that as well), dont go
out (not even to a parking lot because parking lots have reported high raped),
dont sleep (many rapes happen at night, and there are even home invasion
rapes that can occur in your own bed), and always be with a group of friends
(but acquaintance rape is the most common type of rape so maybe you
shouldnt go with a group of friends). So essentially if you truly want to prevent
being raped, lock yourself in a closet.

BUT. Thanks to a new device, called the Rapex, you, too can now prevent
rape!

A perfect example of rape prevention gone bad is that of South African inventor
Sonette Ehlers. She cares enough about rape victims getting raped that she has
developed an anti-rape female condom which will hook onto an attackers penis.
This device, called the rapex is worn continuously by the victim to prevent
rape. In fact, the device should be worn at all times, because a rape can occur at
any point.

In general, society must stop putting restraints on the victims, and start
addressing those who commit the crime. The best way to prevent rape is to send
the perp to prison, and elongate the sentences. More importantly, stop letting
rapists (especially child rapists) out early for good behavior. There are no
children and no women in prison, so of course the criminal will be reformed.
The best way to prevent rape is to go after the source not those affected by the
source. Since when is it the victims responsibility to not get raped? This devise
is a repulsing throwback to the 1400s when women were forced to wear chastity
belts.

Production is to start next year on the rapex, and personally, I am afraid of the
repercussions of wearing such a device. If a woman wearing this were to be
raped wouldnt the rapists first instinct be to beat, hit, or even kill the woman
who currently has his penis pricked full of shafts and barbs? The act of
committing rape isnt just a one time thing; usually there is a history of rape in
the criminals past, and history has a way of repeating itself. Inevitably, criminals
would catch on quickly and the rate of sodomy rape will inexorably rise.

I am unsure how they will market this, whether or not governments will pass
these out, or it is up to women to purchase these. But could you imagine
receiving a bullet proof vest in the mail and being asked to wear it to prevent a
possible homicide? Why do we treat rape differently? I can see right now a
defense attorney questioning a woman who wasnt wearing her rapex, Ladies
and Gentlemen of the jury this wasnt rape! This was sex! She wanted it and
you know this because she wasnt wearing her rapex.

If the rapex starts being handed out, or even on drug store shelves, expect
bullet proof vests soon to follow. This device inevitably says that your
government can no longer control those who commit criminal acts. Essentially,
your country is in a state of nature and not the Emerson view of the state of
nature that of Hobbes, one of complete civil unrest and anarchy. If that is
where our world is going, I may just have to take that bullet proof vest and a
gun.

To learn more about the rapex: http://www.rapestop.net/index.asp

OVER MY DEAD BODY

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:44:14 -0400

After the initial terror of being raped, questions start arising in a rape victimʼs mind.

“Have I contracted an STD?”

“Do I press charges?”

“Will I ever heal?”

“Am I pregnant?”

Some victims have to face STDʼs, or at least take a flight of pills at the ER in
attempts to avoid the onslaught to avoid an unwanted disease from their rape.
Some victims battle with the repercussions of ʻdo I press charges?ʼ question for the
rest of their lives. Many find healing from their physical and emotional trauma a life
long journey. And for about 170 to 340 women, according to the Department of
Justice, deal with pregnancies every year as a result of their rape. The Elliot
Institute estimates that 73% of these women choose to give birth to these babies.

But how many of those women who give birth to their babies pressed charges
against the man who raped them? Who would want to

How many of those women got a conviction from their trial? Not many. Rape is the
most underreported crime, and even those rapes that are reported rarely make it to
a jury trial. Putting the issue of pregnancy aside, many women find that pressing
charges is another difficult feat upon their emotional and physical trauma. For some,
it is easier to just deal with the emotional trauma itself, and forget about pressing
charges. For other women, it is difficult to press charges because they waited too
long to have a rape kit done, or the state wonʼt take their case. For other women,
their case went to trial, but the jury couldnʼt reach a verdict, so the trial was just
brushed off. But for the few that become pregnant and choose to have their baby –
an unfortunate legal battle may wait in the wings that they may be unaware of.

Many states give legal rights to the men that raped these women. The reason being
is because there is no record of any wrong. No trial, no pressed charges, no
conviction. You may wonder why a man, who raped a woman, would even want
custody – the answer is power. Acquaintance rapes make up the majority of rape
cases, and in many cases this crime is committed by someone who also exhibits
other violent or possessive tendencies. Gaining custody of a rape victimʼs child is
just another way of the perpetrator issuing his control. Could you imagine the man
that raped you picking up your child for an unsupervised legal parental visit? The
fright, fear, and control are what drive a few men to push for custody rights, even if
the child was conceived in an illegal manner.

In many unfortunate cases the women who originally wanted nothing to do with the
justice system, and just wanted to have their baby in a quiet corner and discuss
nothing more of their situation has suddenly been bombarded with the legal system,
and so has their child.

Under many statesʼ laws custody or visitation rights may not be awarded if a parent
has been found guilty of killing the other parent or another of his children.

But….many laws do not address the issue of rape.

That means that these rape victims who conceived their child through their rapes,
even after pressing criminal charges would have to be murdered by the man who
raped them in order to protect their child.

When your murder becomes your only option in the legal system, it should be
obvious that rape victims need more rights.

ASSAULTING THE TRUTH

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:27:07 -0400

A woman was assaulted last night.

            What does that mean? You could ask several different people what that means, and everyone could issue a different answer and be correct. This woman could have been beaten, raped, had her arm hit, perhaps just her butt grabbed. But time, and time again reporters use this loose terminology to describe a situation that leaves people wondering what exactly happened.
            Why is it that sexual is being dropped from its partner in crime, assault? Without those two words together, there is no description, and in some cases no crime. First off, I would like to state for the record that I cant stand the phrase sexual assault. To me, even though its a legal term, it makes no sense. I understand that the word, sexual qualifies what kind of assault that it was, but the word sexual itself has no relationship to any crime. We qualify other types of assault with using assault like words. For example, assault with a deadly weapon, deadly weapon on its own
paints a gruesome, threatening picture. Sexual well sexual is something that is not a crime, but rather a behavior that is paraded and encouraged by society. Deadly weapons are not. If you abbreviate the word deadly you will get the word dead. If you would shorten the word sexual you can either get, sex, or sexy. Look folks, there is nothing sexy about sexual assault. So why qualify an assault with a sexual connotation?
            If you look at the phrase sexual assault in the most literal way, its an assault that occurred in a sexual manner. To me that paints a picture of a gorgeous busty super model in a skin tight black pleather suit beating up (or rather assaulting) someone. Thats what a sexual assault means to me. But, if you take a look at the literal meaning of assault with a deadly weapon the picture is quite clear. The phrase sexual assault can encompass anything from grabbing the chest of a woman, to a brutal gang rape. The two are quite different, even though they are both extremely exacerbating for the victims of the crime. Even the follow up procedures are different. If penetration is involved, a rape kit must be administered,
and in addition hoards of STD drugs must be taken, AIDS/HIV testing, blood work done even the trauma associated with the crime is different.
            So why are we not being descriptive with one of the most common crimes? I am all for dropping the word sexual from its co-anchor assault but another word must be used in order to qualify what type of assault that it was. It should be classified by the weapon used, just like deadly weapon. People need to know that when consent isnt involved, a penis can be a deadly weapon too. Penile assault, vaginal penetrated assault, digital assault, penetrated assault or how about rape? Those terms paint a much better picture of the crime. By not labeling the crime, or creating such a fuzzy label, we are assaulting the truth.

DISTRICT ATTORNEYS, A LITTLE ADVICE FROM THE ʻWITNESSʼ….

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:14:34 -0400

Daily, we turn on the news and hear stories of sexual assaults. A victim was running alone and grabbed by brute force and raped along the running trail, a victim was slipped a date rape drug and regained consciousness to find someone raping her, a victim attended a party, consumed too much alcohol and found a man buttoning his pants as she regained consciousness. We hear these stories through news stories, emails and articles -but the accounts of what follows these cases are often untold. For many rape victims their nightmares do not end at their rape, but rather start at the rape.
As a rape victim enters the judicial system, many hold hopes of justice and conviction – which is why they pressed charges in the first place. However, rape victimʼs hopes are
slowly crushed through the ʻquick and speedyʼ trial process, which usually takes 2-3 years for a case to come to trial.
Everyone knows that the Defense Attorneys will be ruthless to the rape victim, questioning every aspect of he/r life past to present. The defense attorneys usually will hire private detectives, contact your friends, and subpoena everything that they possibly can get their hands on. But, what many donʼt know is that a rape victimʼs experiences with the District Attorneyʼs office sometimes parallel their experiences with the Defense
Attorneys.
A recent case was brought to my attention, where a woman went to a party, had drinks, blacked-out on a couch and awoke to an unknown man sweating over her as he raped her. The rape victim pressed charges, and immediately entered into the justice system. Nearly two years after her rape, she was preparing for the trial which was about to be held on Monday March 10th, 2008, when she sent me the following email (which she has approved for me to post) from the District Attorneyʼs office, who once told her that that they would discuss with her any plea deals that might come up before they would make a decision:

Tory,
I just got this email :-( I need to talk in a little bit...I am trying to pull myself together and figure out what is going on... I just don't understand this...I just briefly talked to my prosecutor and it seems this is all done regardless of how I feel...

I just feel sick :-(
Christy

Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:12:56 -0600
Throughout the months we have discussed the uphill battle we will face at trial. Additionally, Jackson County has suffered from a rash of acquittals on cases similar to even ones involving serious physical injury. Much of this is based on the social climate related to these cases as we have talked about. Also, as we have discussed before, I know based on considerable experience that you as the victim will be the one on trial. The silent attorney at the deposition, is actually defending this case at trial. He is very aggressive and will be relentless and ruthless in his cross- examination of you. The experience at trial will be considerably different from the deposition. Based on my previous experience in prosecuting sex crimes cases, I believe that you may suffer retraumatization during your cross examination as well as your viewing of the rest of the trial because trials are rarely cathartic for victims nor are they intended to be. In every
case I must consider the risk of retraumatizing the victim in exchange for an acquittal. Additionally, based on my experience, if the jury finds the defendant guilty, I am certain that a judge will give the defendant probation.
Although I believe that there is a chance that we may be able to secure a conviction, there is a great likelihood that the defendant will be acquitted which would mean that he would never suffer any legal repercussions for the crimes he has committed against you.
Additionally, even if the defendant is found guilty, he is most probably going to get probation.
Knowing that the best probable result in this case even following a traumatizing jury trial would be probation, my goal is for the defendant to become a felon as a result of the crimes he committed against you.
In light of all of these factors, I have extended the following plea offer in this case: Defendant will plead to Felonious Restraint, a class C felony (the same class crime as sexual assault), in exchange for court- supervised probation and sex offender counseling. The defendant has reluctantly accepted the plea offer despite his continued desire to go to trial in light of all the factors itemized above. The plea will take place on
Monday morning at 8:30 or 9:00. You have the right to be present for the plea and I would like for you to be there. You also have the right to make a statement to the court about the impact this crime has had upon your life and I encourage you to do so. Unlike at trial you would not be subject to cross-examination if you make such a statement. I encourage you to provide a written statement that can be placed in the court file. Additionally, you can read the statement in court. I encourage victims to write out their statements so they are able to deliberate in advance about the things they want to say. I find that victims who give impromptu statements to the court frequently feel afterwards like there were other things they meant to say but didn't because they were too nervous.
You also have other options in terms of flight arrangements now. It is now your option not to come since the defendant is going to plead and we can cancel your flight arrangements. Also you can leave at anytime rather than next Saturday and we will adjust the return flight accordingly. Let me know what you would like to do and we will
accommodate you. (Note: The above document appears in original form except for the names/email addresses of those involved have been removed)

When I faced my trial, I was shocked that suddenly the case no longer ʻbelongedʼ to me, but rather the state. I was merely a witness to myown rape, nothing more. The state suddenly stepped in and took away something so personal to me and along with my case went the entire decision making process. When a rape occurs, control is lost for the victim – they do not choose whether or not they want to be raped – it is an action that is forced upon the victim. The justice system seems to emulate the same ʻforceʼ with how they handle these cases. Often there is no discussion of these decisions with the rape victim. It is imperative that District Attorneys note this feeling of rape victims, for control is everything after a rape.
I understand fully that the lawyers in the District Attorneys offices are often overworked, and underpaid. In my case, the stateʼs attorney representing my case worked tremendously long hours ruthlessly studying every aspect of my case, even through the weekends. But, what some of these attorneys see as, ʻjust another caseʼ (upon an endless amount of cases), a rape victim sees the same case as a trial that will
forever change their life. For a victim, a rape trial feels tantamount to life and death, sleeping peacefully or sleeping with the lights on for the rest of their life. A trial issues as much of a verdict for the defendant as it does for the victim. The verdict determines the outcome of day to day life for both parties involved. It is up to the attorneys that are assigned to our cases, (unlike the defendants, rape victims do not get to choose who
represents ʻourʼ case), to understand fully that when the case ends, a victim lives with that decision daily.

Better ways for a DAʼs office to handle rape cases:
-Explain what the legal terms mean
Many victims do not know what a ʻvictim impact statementʼ is, how is a victim supposed to issue a statement when they donʼt even know what it means?
-Do not issue crushing decisions via email!
Sure, you may be busy or may not have time to answer questions – but that does not suffice as a reason to issue an ʻemailʼ decision. Call the victim (preferably not at work) and discuss the reason to the decision.
-Always speak to the victim before you make any “life changing” decisions on the case.
Sure, a plea deal might not seem life changing to you – but it certainly does to a victim. Discuss the pros and cons for the plea deal – ask the victim why or why not s/he does not want to take it – and let them know that you will take it into consideration, but you must do what you see fit.
-Try not to go months without contacting a rape victim.
As much as this crime goes unreported…when we press charges many of us are ruthless about trying to acquire justice. We call your offices many times, and are unable to reach you most of them. We leave messages, and rarely hear back until the week or two before the trial. Contact us, even if you have nothing to report – it makes us feel like we are not ʻlostʼ within the justice system. Keep in mind, for many of us victims this is our first legal system experience. We often have no idea how long it takes to go to trial, and what legalities happen in between reporting the crime, and if/when the case goes to trial.
-Issue a ʻguideʼ to the legal system for your county/state
If you do not have one, create one. List the steps in the justice system, give an approximate guide to how long it takes –and list definitions to terms, if youʼre able.

As always, if you have any comments, questions, or want to bring my
attention to an issue please feel free to email me at info@bowendc.com

IN MY MOUTH

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:06:49 -0400

I never thought that the word 'rape' belonged in my mouth in the first place. It is a word I never wished to speak of, yet alone reference. However, as time progressed and unfortunate circumstances came barreling through my life like an unexpected tornado, I was forced to use the word to describe what happened to me. For, there is no other word to describe the action that took place. Some of you may be familiar with my story. I was the 21-year-old University of Nebraska College Student that went to a Bar & Grill with my sorority sisters to celebrate Halloween. After having a few drinks the next thing I recall is regaining consciousness naked with vomit encrusted in my hair as an unknown man was raping me. Suddenly, I found that unfamiliar word "rape", which has always made me cringe... in my mouth. But, the word 'rape' or 'first degree sexual assault' was familiar to my assailant, for he was arrested twice before my rape for the same crime.

What made my case different from many rape cases was the fact that I was not allowed to use the word 'rape' to describe what happened to me. The Judge also banned other words, replacing 'sexual assault nurse examiner' with "sexual examiner" and "rape kit" with "sexual examinationkit". It was as if the Judge opened my mouth and forced words into me. The Judge literally took the "assault" out of the crime. With rape, if one decides to press charges and the state chooses to
prosecute, comes a notoriously he said v. she said trial. But in my case, it was he said v. she can not say. I fought hard to allow usage of the word rape to describe what happened to me, but the Judge threatened me; with contempt, no trial at all, fines, or even jail. For those of you that do not know, Judge Jeffrey Cheuvront ended up banning, barring, and gagging so much information - that the prosecutors were unable to retry the case for a third time. This leaves a 3 time arrestee for rape never serving a day in jail, and 3 of his victims wondering how many more trials/women there must be for a conviction. I would love to wash the word rape right out of my personal vocabulary, but I can not. I am yet another rape victim that the judicial system has let down. The one entity that I turned to for help and closure, has denied me of the same rights that they granted to the man that raped me.

I am pairing up with CrimeJunkies.com to speak for those who can't. I am shouting for sexual assault victims that never got their chance to speak fully and truthfully in a courtroom just like me. I am screaming for justice in my life as I slowly travel the daily path of victim to survivor. Now that the word rape is in my mouth, I will not go gentle into that good night.