Katz, Marshall & Banks Of Counsel Susan L. Burke filed a lawsuit today on behalf of an unnamed midshipman referred to as Jane Doe against the Superintendent of the Naval Academy, Michael H. Miller, requesting a court order that Vice Admiral Miller recuse himself from serving as the exclusive quasi-judicial decision maker in a pending criminal matter because, the lawsuit argues, the probability of actual bias on his part is too high to be constitutionally tolerable.
The lawsuit follows an Article 32 hearing in a sexual assault case against three ex-Navy football players, whom Midshipman Doe has accused of sexual assault. That Article 32 hearing, which is akin to a probable cause preliminary hearing in the civilian criminal justice system, was finally permitted to proceed in mid-June 2013, over 14 months after Midshipman Doe was allegedly raped by the three football players, over 14 months after the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (“NCIS”) began an investigation into the alleged assault, and roughly five months after Midshipman Doe began actively participating in the NCIS investigation. According to the lawsuit, this delay was politically motivated, as Vice Admiral Miller sought to advance his own career interests in being perceived as a strong leader of the Academy.
During the Article 32 hearing, Midshipman Doe was subjected to several days of grueling questions from three different defense teams, in some cases lasting from 8:00 AM until early in the evening. This abusive schedule was put in place by Vice Admiral Miller. The questions Midshipman Doe was subjected to during the 30 hours of cross-examination she endured included disturbing and invasive inquiries into whether she wore underwear the night of the party, and how much she needed to open her mouth to perform oral sex.
According to the lawsuit, “the superintendent, acting from afar and without ever setting foot in the courtroom, intentionally subverted the judicial process in order to punish Midshipman Doe for daring to blow the whistle publicly on wrongdoing by Naval Academy football players and the subsequent cover-up. He acted from bias because his own career interests in being perceived as a strong leader of the academy were at stake.”
Ms. Burke joined Katz, Marshall & Banks earlier this week and will focus her practice on False Claims Act litigation, defense contractor fraud, and whistleblower matters.
Media Coverage
Lawsuit filed in Naval Academy sex assault case (Video)
By The Associated Press, Greta Kreuz - September 5, 2013
Alleged rape victim files suit to remove U.S. Naval Academy superintendent from case
By The Washington Post, Annys Shin - September 5, 2013
Lawsuit filed in Naval Academy sex assault case
By The Associated Press, Brian Witte - September 5, 2013
