Court Asked to Review Judge's "Rape" Ban
    The Associated Press

    Wednesday 11 July 2007

    Lincoln, Nebraska - A woman who says she was raped has asked the Nebraska Supreme Court to review a judge's ban on saying such words as "rape" and "victim" at the trial of the accused man.

    Jury selection is underway in the second trial of Pamir Safi, 33, on a charge of sexual assault. The language restrictions also were imposed during his first trial last year, which ended with a hung jury.

    Safi says he had consensual sex with Tory Bowen, 24, after they met in a Lincoln bar in 2004. She said she was too drunk to consent to sex and that Safi knew that.

    District Judge Jeffre Cheuvront has ordered witnesses to sign papers that say they won't use certain words and phrases as they testify. Among the words: "victim," "sexual assault," "assailant" and "rape."

    The judge said Safi's attorneys will be allowed to use words such as "sex" and "intercourse" when describing what happened.

    One of Safi's lawyers, Clarence Mock, says the language restrictions help ensure Safi's rights.

    Bowen's filing to the state Supreme Court on Tuesday argues the judge overstepped his authority and that the ban jeopardizes Bowen's First Amendment rights.

    Bowen said the ban had a marked effect when she testified for nearly 13 hours at Safi's first trial because she had to pause and make sure her words wouldn't violate the ban.

    She said: "I want the freedom to be able to point (to Safi) in court and say, 'That man raped me.'"

    The Associated Press usually does not identify accusers in sex-assault cases, but Bowen has allowed her name to be used publicly because of the issue over the judge's language restrictions.

    Bowen's lawyer, Wendy Murphy, said the issue should be settled before trial testimony begins because the ban could damage Bowen's credibility or the use of a banned word could lead to a mistrial.