Mistrial called after 'rape' banned in court

A Nebraska judge who had ordered the victim of a sexual assault to describe the encounter for the jury as "sex" instead of "rape" now has called a mistrial in the criminal case.

Judge Jeffre Cheuvront of Lancaster County said he decided the publicity around the case, especially a protest held on the steps of the courthouse, would make it difficult to seat an impartial jury, according to an Associated Press report.

A defense lawyer, Clarence Mock, told the Lincoln Star-Journal words such as "rape" could be detrimental to his client's case. "Rape" is not even a legal term, he noted. And while "sexual assault" is a legal term, it references something only the jury can determine, he said. The defense team had asked Cheuvront to disallow such references during the trial, and he agreed.

"Under the rules of evidence, witnesses can't reach legal conclusions," Mock told the newspaper.

The case is against Pamir Safi, a 33-year-old who was accused of raping Tory Bowen, 24. He had reported the sex was consensual but she testified at an earlier trial, which ended in a hung jury after her descriptions of the encounter were censored, that she was so drunk she couldn't agree to the sex, and he knew it.

The judge's rulings would have allowed "sex" or "intercourse" to be used to describe the encounter but not "rape."

Bowen has reported the judge's actions are "making me commit perjury."

"I never once would describe (what happened) as sex," she said. "The word 'sex' implies consent."

A spokeswoman with a rape victims advocacy organization, Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, told the AP the judge's actions caused the mistrial.

Angela Rose said it's hard enough for sexual assault victims to find the courage to report the rape and then agree to testify.

But when they get to a courtroom, "they're silenced," she said. "It's absolutely absurd."

The encounter happened Oct. 31, 2004.

"In my mind, what happened to me was rape," said Bowen. "I want the freedom to be able to point (to Safi) in court and say, 'That man raped me.'"

At the earlier trial, the words "victim" and "assailant" also were banned, and Bowen said her testimony was tainted because she had to stop before responding to each question to review her response for banned words.

Earlier testimony showed the two were strangers who met at a Lincoln bar the night of Oct. 30, 2004. They had drinks and left together about 1 a.m. Police reports show Bowen told an investigator the following day she could not remember most of the previous evening and that she did not willingly accompany Safi.

Prosecutors later filed the sexual assault charge on the grounds Safi knew Bowen was too intoxicated to consent to sex.

Wendy Murphy of the New England School of Law in Boston said the ban could be powerful.

"It's very difficult to explain why jurors feel the way they do," she said. "The point is, language is so passively absorbed they don't even know it."

She said banning the word "rape" is unprecedented and said such a restriction on witnesses "impugns their candor, their credibility."

"Jurors will go back to their room and say, 'She didn't feel it was harmful. After all, she called it sex,'" Murphy told the newspaper. "It's like saying to a robbery victim, 'You can’t say you were robbed, because that's a legal judgment. You can only say you gave your stuff to the defendant.' That's absurd."

Related special offers:

"Betrayed by the Bench"

"The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom"

Previous stories:

Judge bans word 'rape' at rape trial

N-word fine, but 'family values' banned

9th Circuit endorses censoring Christians

'Natural family' called derogatory to 'gays'

Diss a 'gay?' Go to jail!

'Philadelphia 11' told 'gays' limited speech

'Philly 11' win round against 'gay' group

Philly group to protest 'Outfest' again