E. V. v. Eugene H. Robinson, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, in His Capacity as Military Judge
AdministrativeLaw FourthAmendment Securities Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Whether Congress intended to bar judicial review of a victim's rights under Article 6b
QUESTIONS PRESENTED Congress gave certain rights to victims of military sexual assault. 10 U.S.C. § 806b, Rights of Victims (“Article 6b”). Congress and the President gave victims other rights, including the right to privileged communications with psychotherapists. Article I, Section 8, Clause 9 of the Constitution gives Congress the power “To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court” (the “Inferior Tribunals Clause”). Congress constituted military trial and appellate tribunals by enacting the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 10 U.S.C. § 801 et seg. “UCMJ”). In violation of Article 6b and the psychotherapist privilege, the Respondent military officer ordered the seizure and distribution of the privileged psychotherapy records of the Petitioner, a military sexual assault victim. The military appellate tribunals sustained the Respondent’s orders. Petitioner sought judicial review in federal courts established under Article III of the Constitution. Below, the Ninth Circuit held that the sovereign immunity canon of construction precluded judicial review in federal courts. The questions presented are: 1. Whether Congress intended to bar judicial review of a victim’s rights under Article 6b; and 2. If Congress intended to bar judicial review, whether such bar violates the Constitution’s Inferior Tribunals Clause.