Now is the time

In the interest of fair play, James J. Kilpatrick isdistributing to his clients the following response to a series ofhis columns. The most recent column concerning the case in questionwas released by us on Aug. 25, 1999, with the title ”Christy andthe Constitution.” — Alan McDermott, Senior Editor, UniversalPress Syndicate

Dear Editor: On Jan. 11, the nation’s highest court consideredthe constitutionality of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act(VAWA), which is aimed at the twin evils of domestic abuse andsexual assault. Despite the act’s laudable goals, it exceedsCongress’s constitutional authority to legislate, as JamesKilpatrick has pointed out in several of his columns. Although Mr.Kilpatrick got the law right, he got the facts wrong. In threedifferent columns, Mr. Kilpatrick stated that Christy Brzonkala,the plaintiff in the VAWA case, was ”certainly” raped by twoVirginia Tech football players, including Tony Morrison, ourclient. In fact, both students are falsely accused. Both auniversity judicial committee and a state grand jury decided thatthe evidence did not support Brzonkala’s allegation of rape.Although she has turned her case into a national crusade, sherefused to appear before the grand jury, calling into doubt herbelief in her own story.

Mr. Kilpatrick was also mistaken when he said that Virginia Tech”reduced the charge against the players from raping to cursing.”Although the university did find that Tony used ”abusivelanguage,” that finding was not the result of reduced charges.Rather, it was the university’s way of saving face after failing toprove the more serious charge. In light of Mr. Kilpatrick’smistaken belief that the two athletes were guilty of rape, he canbe forgiven for calling Tony’s mild sanction – includingsensitivity training – ”a pat on the wrist.” Additionalinformation about the VAWA case can be found at www.cir-usa.org.Sincerely, Curt A. Levey, Director of Legal and Public Affairs, TheCenter for Individual Rights, Washington, D.C.