From where I sit, in a system that believes that one is innocent until proven guilty, the privacy of both parties should be of the utmost importance. The way it stands, especially with rape shield laws, there is really no penalty for an accuser who might have behaved vindictively. Yes it does happen, no I am not suggesting it happens often. I simply think it is a perversion of the foundation of everything we hold dear to allow one party to be completely tried and convicted in the court of public opinion without the tiniest shred of evidence released to the same judge/jury and executioner beyond speculation and an accusation.
I have never understood why anyone being booked gets the pleasure of being all over the local newspapers, before there is any proof of guilt beyond an accusation. Without going into too much detail, my wife was charged with a misdemeanor. The police came to our house on a Sunday and arrested her for the supposed crime that happened days earlier. Over a span of several weeks, my wife went through some significant humiliation of having anyone with access to the local newspaper see that she had been arrested and booked for a crime. There were humiliating conversations she had to have with her employer, some employees and customers. When we finally went to court to talk to the D.A., the charges were dropped with a half-assed apology. The newspaper later ran a retraction but I thought that was a total and blatant invasion of privacy rights that should be protected. We were basically left with no recourse. It just wasn't worth spending tens of thousands of dollars to fight a protracted legal battle over a simple misdemeanor charge that was dropped.
i don't know how to fix it. While the trial at least has a high burden of proof, the defendant is often already tarred and feathered before his day in court in almost every meaningful way (job, relationships, money spent on defense, etc). More than that, should the defendant be found not guilty by a jury of his/her peers, that rarely if ever removes the stain.
Don't misconstrue any of this as being anti-victim. The problem is that the victim will never be whole again. There is nothing that can repair a victim of any violent crime except time, lots of counseling, and a close knit support group. On the same token, there is no justice gained for society or the victim by the public crucifixion of the defendant before guilt has been determined. Its a terrible situation all around, with people and their lives caught in the gears of a machine that doesn't always have the best interest of any of the parties in mind. That's just my two cents.
