Service members wrongfully accused of sexual assault need judicial reform

In the civilian judicial system, prosecutors are notoriously hesitant to indict or try criminal suspects if they are not certain they can successfully convict. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice manual prohibits prosecutors from initiating federal prosecution unless a federal crime has been committed and the evidence is sufficient to prevail at trial. When it comes to such crimes as sexual assault, this limits the number of charges that go before a jury. Only the strongest cases are tried, resulting in high conviction rates.

Although some guilty suspects may go free as a result, the judicial system is designed so that the innocent are unlikely to be convicted or have their reputations destroyed through an agonizing legal process.