Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Civil Rights and Discrimination
Military; Sexual Assault; Federal Tort Claims Act; Feres v. United States; Incident; Service; Deference; Abuse; Spletstoser v. Hyten; Survivor; Accountable; Accountability; Combat; Military Values; Qualified Immunity; Negligence; Servicemembers; Sexual Misconduct; Feres Doctrine; Discipline; Brooks v. United States; United States v. Brown; Chisholm v. Georgia; Chimel v. California; United States v. Stanley; Incident; Dexheimer v. United States; Smith v. United States
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
When Sexual Assault Becomes Incident To Military Service, Lauren C. Brady
When Sexual Assault Becomes Incident To Military Service, Lauren C. Brady
Journal of Law and Policy
For seventy-two years, federal courts have barred military servicemembers who are survivors of sexual assault from recovery under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The Feres doctrine, promulgated from the Supreme Court case Feres v. United States, became the foundation for federal courts’ decisions that sexual assault is incident to one’s service in the military. Courts’ over-deference to the military has enabled a system that turns a blind eye to perpetrators and abusive environments on bases. However, the Ninth Circuit recently turned the tide in FTCA cases, holding in Spletstoser v. Hyten that military sexual assault survivors should be permitted …