During my time as a Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC) and later as Deputy Program Manager for the National Guard SVC Program, I often encountered cases where early jurisdictional missteps created long-term challenges—especially when victims were initially interviewed by the wrong investigative authority.
As my mentor, COL (Ret.) Rick Fay, always emphasized, two critical questions must be asked at the outset:
1. What was the status of the individuals involved at the time of the incident?
2. Where did the incident occur?
These questions are not procedural formalities—they are essential. In Alaska, I had cases involving service members, dependents and civilians whose duty status and location changed between state and federal jurisdictions depending on the time and setting. This raised complex issues around which agency—military, state, or local—should lead the investigation, and resulted in unnecessary and painful hurdles when the incorrect one interviewed the victim.
Ruth's Truth: Getting it right from the start protects victims, preserves integrity of the case, and prevents the need for painful “do-overs” that can retraumatize survivors and compromise outcomes.
This is critical to ensuring justice - whatever that looks like.