Military has different idea on privacy....

Back in April I read a news story about Jennifer Bier, a Colorado Rape Crisis Counselor who was refusing to turn over confidential records to the Military in the Court Martial of airman Joseph Harding, who is accused of raping ex-cadet Jessica Brakey and another woman. Jennifer Bier was Jessica Brakey's Counselor.

Military law differs from civilian law, as I'm sure many of you are thinking, "those records are confidential". Not if you are involved in a Court Martial where confidential records like this are used by a military defense lawyer to basically to to smear the rape victim. The Military defense team's position is that Harding's constitutional right to a fair trial overrides Brakey's privacy interests.

Beir's attorney, Wendy Murphy, stated back in April: "The accused has no constitutional right to conduct a fishing expedition in the private records of a rape victim or any kind of victim. There's just no justification for them to snoop around like this."

Several lawmakers including, Sen. Wayne Allard, have asked the Air Force, which operates under its own justice system rules, to back off.

Well it appears, Military defense Team 1, Rape Counselor 0, from today's New York Times:

DENVER, May 28 (AP) - An arrest warrant has been issued for a rape counselor who refused to turn over records of her sessions with a former Air Force Academy cadet, one of the women whose allegations touched off a scandal that toppled the academy's leaders.

Ms. Bier said Saturday that she was angry that she was being forced to chose between betraying her client's trust and being arrested.

"For me to betray a client renders my whole field null and void and I refuse to do that," she said.

Ms. Bier's lawyer, Wendy Murphy, said on Saturday that she planned to seek an emergency order on Tuesday in federal court to prevent an arrest, but that she was not sure if the court would accept the case.

Ms. Bier "did the right thing that is ethically and legally demanded of her," said Ms. Murphy, who teaches at the New England School of Law in Boston.

Officials at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, where the court-martial is taking place, did not return phone calls seeking comment on Saturday.

Ms. Bier, who is a civilian, has indicated that she is prepared to go to jail to protect the privacy of the accuser, a former cadet who sought counseling after she said she was raped by Lieutenant Harding in 2000.

As a woman, and as a rape victim, this is not only not right, but is something that should have been stopped years ago. A woman raped by a man should have the same right to confideniality in treatment in the military or in the civilian world. I admire Jennifer Bier's convicitions on this issue, and I will keep you updated as to what happens. She should not be forced to violate her ethics and I hope the Military drops the arrest warrant and the request.