Woman’s Suit Against 2 in Rape Dismissed

Dismissing a woman’s lawsuit against two Virginia Tech football players, a judge declared unconstitutional a federal law allowing rape victims to sue their attackers for damages.

U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser, in a ruling released Monday, said Congress exceeded its constitutional authority by passing the law.

Christy Brzonkala had accused athletes Antonio Morrison and James Crawford of raping her in their dormitory suite in 1994.

She became the first woman to sue in federal court under the Violence Against Women Act. The law, which is part of the 1994 crime bill, allows victims of sexual assaults to contend their civil rights were violated and seek damages.

The defendants had argued that the law gave Congress police powers the Constitution did not intend and that it opened the door for laws permitting any criminal suspect to be dragged into federal court for civil damages.

Kiser had already dropped the university and a third player from the lawsuit.

Brzonkala will appeal Kiser’s ruling and proceed with lawsuits filed in state courts, her attorney said. Attorneys for Brzonkala and the Justice Department, which helped defend the law, argued that it had a sound basis in the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection.

They argued that sexual attacks deprive women of their civil rights and that violence against women affects interstate commerce because it reduces women’s ability to stay in school or hold a job.

Brzonkala did not report the alleged attacks for several months, and no criminal charges were ever filed.

David Paxton, Morrison’s attorney, said: “It’s sort of like a 25-yard gain; it’s not a touchdown, but it’s a whole lot better than being sacked.”