Victim's story not enough in Nebraska By Chris Carroll Suii Repotter Sexual assault is the only criminal case in Nebraska in which the victim’s account of the crime isn’t enough to warrant a trial by jury, said Thomas Shanahan, Nebraska Su preme Court Judge. Collaborating evidence support ing the victim’s account is also re quired, he said. A woman who reports her purse has been stolen doesn’t have to pro vide supporting evidence, Shanahan said, but assault victims do. Shanahan said he thinks this makes assault victims second class witnesses in the Nebraska judicial system. Nebraska, Shanahan said, is the only state he knows of that still re quires additional evidence, such as that gathered in a medical exam. Marcee Metzger, interpersonal violence counselor for Residential Rapes frequently are not reported RAPE from Pag© 1 If die perpetrator had just wanted sex, Kaikowski said, a willing partner could have been found, rather than forcing an unwilling partner. Kaikowski said he refers victims to professionals to help them deal with the rape. This is an important step in recov ery, Kaikowski said, even if charges are not filed. Metzger said she first determines that a victim is safe from further physical harm. I IIVII| lTlVU>gVI OUIU, JIIV VUI l»VJJ the message that what occurred was a crime of power and control, that all choices were taken from the victim. The more quickly a v ictim is given control over her life after the assault, Metzger said, the more likely she is to accept what happened and go on. She said die crisis-shock, denial and integration stage are stages of trauma. For some victims, Metzger said, signs of physical shock occur in the crisis stage. Crying uncontrollably and sweat ing are common because the assault has affected the victim’s equilibrium, Metzger said. The effects can last from five minutes up to several days, she said. But sometimes the victim denies her feelings and the reality of the incident entirely, Metzger said. Typically, Metzger said, the vic tim recalls vivid details of the assault one day and then denies it even hap pened after bruises sustained from the assault disappear. women wno stay in tms uemai stage, tend to have more difficulty in recovering, she said. “Individuals need to mourn, feel the anger,” Metzger said. Metzger said she doesn’t empha size that victims work through these stages just for the sake of doing them. Victims, she said, need to accept that this is what happened to them and that it hurts. More issues seen at final debate DEBATE from Page 1 no clear winner in the debate, which means Bush came out on lop. “Essentially Bush wins by a draw," Forsythe said. “All Bush had to do was avoid a major defeat.’’ Avery and Steinman both said they thought this debate focused more on the issues than previous debates. “Dukakis helped on that, to set the debate in that direction,” Steinman said. Bush was strong on values, with Dukakis strong on the issues and social themes, he said. Hibbing said the issues have al ways been there, but they have not been addressed by the media. Forsythe said he thinks die media could have done a belter job address ing the Issues when asking questions. “The reporters were weak in ask ing questions,” Forsythe said. “1 found they were not askingfhe impor tant questions, which made the de bates boring.” Education at the University of Ne braska-Lincoln, said one difficulty is that a physical exam needs to be conducted w ithin 24 hours of the rape Those who agree to a rape exam have hair and fingernail scrapings taken and have all body orifices swabbed, Metzger said. The clothing worn at the time of the assault is also taken by the police as evidence, she said. At this time, Metzger said, the victim is in a state of shock and often doesn’t want to report the assault Often, Metzger said, the victim is very shaken and possibly experiences uncontrollable sobbing. A physical exam, Metzger said, is another loss of control soon after the assault. The procedure can make the victim feel re-victimized, she said. Cpl. Larry Kalkowski of the UNL Police Department said some victims follow the natural inclination to shower or douche after an assault, destroying evidence. Shanahan said a victim’s account should be enough to get the case be fore a jury. The requirement for additional evidence, Shanahan said, is judicially manufactured and does not exist in Nebraska statutes. Judicially manufactured, he said, means die requirement for additional evidence has come down through judicial opinions. This precedent originated under Lord Hale, the chief justice (hiring the 16th or 17th century in England. At that time, Shanahan said, a bill of rights and legal counsel didn't exist Theabsence of counsel to point out discrepancies in testimony may have justified Lord Hale’s position in 16th or 27th century England, he said. Today, he said, this precedent is outdated, as rights for the accused, including representation, exist. 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