Legal Question in Military Law in District of Columbia

Re: Sexual Assault in Iraq

Yes. Regardless of whether the defendant is convicted, you have a right to file a civil lawsuit against him. whether you may sue the government will depend on the circumstances surrounding the assault.

If you have a point of contact at CID or a copy of any reports that were filed in this matter I would be glad to contact and/or review them. Sexual assault falls outside the scope of any persons "military duty" and is not a protected action. Please feel free to contact either myself or my partner (Attorney James P. Hall).

Re: Sexual Assault in Iraq

You have asked an interesting and not uncomplicated question of federal law. My review of the U.S. Supreme Court cases from the 1980's

known as U.S. v. Stanley found at 479 U.S. 1005(1986) and Chappelle v. Wallace at 462 U.S 292

would seem to indicate that no, you could not sue this particular officer civilly for damages "arising out of or in the course of activity incident to service".

However, the above notwithstanding, there still seems to be some question as to whether this immunity would extend to actions or conduct undertaken by an officer which have nothing to do(such as in your case) with carrying out military orders or maintaining the required good order and discipline within the ranks.