{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=78fc5f9b-9f16-4ba3-b416-9ffc9960d110", "Blunt, McCaskill Open New Front in Battle Against Military Sexual Assaults", "2013-11-05", "2013", "2013-11", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Missouri U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.)\u00a0and Claire McCaskill (Mo.)\u00a0today introduced bipartisan legislation that would open a new front in the battle to curb sexual assaults in the U.S. military.\r\n\u201cSexual assault in the military is simply intolerable, and there\u2019s no reason these victims should be re-victimized during pre-trial investigations,\u201d Blunt said. \u201cThis bipartisan legislation will help to ensure that Article 32 hearings focus on determining whether there is probable cause as originally intended, while protecting alleged sexual assault victims from becoming the target of unwarranted and abusive questioning.\u201d\r\n\u201cEveryone who\u2019s looked at the Article 32 process agreed that it\u2019s unnecessarily harsh for survivors and that it has become an overly broad tool that has expanded beyond its original function.\u201d said McCaskill, a former courtroom prosecutor of sex crimes. \u201cThese aggressive, commonsense reforms will ensure that the process does not discourage survivors from coming forward, and that survivors\u2019 rights are also strengthened and solidified. I\u2019m delighted to have Senator Blunt\u2019s help as we move to institute these historic reforms.\u201d\r\n\u201cArticle 32 preliminary hearings should not subject victims to hours of questioning in an attempt to degrade, humiliate and discredit them,\u201d said Anu Bhagwati, Service Women's Action Network executive director and former Marine Corps captain.\r\n\u201cIt is time to abolish the practice of allowing defense attorneys to conduct a mini-trial before they ever get to a court-martial,\u201d said Nancy Parrish, President of Protect Our Defenders, \u201cWe need to reign in the Article 32 process and restore it to its appropriate role as a hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to recommend proceeding to General Courts-Martial.\u201d\r\nThe Senators\u2019 legislation\u2014cosponsored by colleagues including Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)\u2014would amend Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to help prevent abusive treatment of sexual assault survivors in a pre-trial setting. Recent media reports detailed the case of a female Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy who was subjected to roughly 30 hours of intimidating and invasive questioning by attorneys representing her alleged assailants during an Article 32 proceeding\u2014a pre-trial investigation required under the UCMJ before a case can be referred to a general court-martial.\r\nThe Article 32 Reform Act would make meaningful reforms to ensure that victims who bravely come forward to report sexual assault are not harassed and intimidated during Article 32 proceedings.\r\nSpecifically, the bill would limit the scope of Article 32 proceedings to the question of probable cause to help prevent abusive and unwarranted questioning of sexual assault survivors. It would also require Article 32 proceedings to be presided over by a military lawyer whose rank is equal to or higher than the trial counsel and the defense counsel. In addition, the bill would require Article 32 proceedings to be recorded and a copy of the recording and a transcript to be made available to all parties, and the survivors and survivors\u2019 counsel, upon request. The bill also includes a provision that would prevent crime victims from being forced to testify at Article 32 proceedings.\r\nAccording to the Department of Defense, an estimated 26,000 cases of unwanted sexual contact occurred in the military last year, but only 3,374 sexual assaults were reported. Equally concerning is that many sexual assault survivors who do report these crimes drop out of the process before their cases even make it to trial. In fact, the Judge Advocate General for the U.S. Air Force, Lieutenant General Richard Harding, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that nearly 30 percent of sexual assault survivors who had originally agreed to help prosecute their alleged offenders changed their minds before trial.\r\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ContentRecord_id=78fc5f9b-9f16-4ba3-b416-9ffc9960d110"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4372870791703463, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}