To direct the Judicial Conference to submit a report examining an amendment to the Federal Rules of Evidence to further limit admissibility of evidence regarding an alleged victim’s sexual behavior or predisposition and to improve privacy protections for admissible evidence.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to review three sets of federal court rules and propose amendments. It asks for changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence (Rule 412, the existing rape shield law), the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 26, governing discovery), and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (Rule 16, governing criminal discovery) to better protect sexual assault victims from invasive inquiries into their personal history during legal proceedings.
Who Benefits and How
Alleged victims of sexual assault benefit from stronger privacy protections during both civil and criminal legal proceedings. Under current law, victims can face broad discovery requests that probe their sexual, medical, psychological, and financial histories. This bill seeks to narrow those inquiries and limit how such personal information can be disclosed afterward.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Defendants and their legal counsel in sexual assault cases may face narrower discovery options, potentially limiting their ability to obtain certain evidence. The Judicial Conference bears the administrative burden of conducting the three reviews and producing reports to Congress within 180 days.
Key Provisions
- Requires a review of Rule 412 (Federal Rules of Evidence) to further limit admissibility of evidence about a victim's sexual behavior or predisposition
- Requires a review of Rule 26 (Civil Procedure) to narrow permissible discovery requests regarding victims' personal records and history
- Requires a review of Rule 16 (Criminal Procedure) to establish parallel discovery limitations and privacy protections in criminal cases
- All amendments must be consistent with existing federal law protecting victim rights
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Directs the Judicial Conference to review and recommend amendments to federal evidence and discovery rules to further limit admissibility of evidence about alleged sexual assault victims sexual behavior and to strengthen privacy protections for such evidence.
Key Policy Areas
Law & Criminal Justice, Civil Rights
Primary Purpose
Directs the Judicial Conference to review and recommend amendments to federal evidence and discovery rules to further limit admissibility of evidence about alleged sexual assault victims sexual behavior and to strengthen privacy protections for such evidence.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Alleged victims of sexual assault
- Victim advocacy organizations
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Defendants in sexual assault cases
- Defense attorneys
- Judicial Conference (administrative burden)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Mace introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "judicial_conference"
- → Judicial Conference of the United States
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology