Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

by Jon Krakauer

Samuels is probably right. A tightly reasoned paper titled “Improving Prosecution of Sexual Assault Cases,” by Amy Knight Burns (published in the Stanford Law Review Online in July 2014), makes a powerful argument that the DOJ did in fact have legal authority to both investigate and sue the MCAO. While acknowledging that “prosecutors generally receive significant immunity for their choices and are subject to little supervision,” Burns states, “[t]he Missoula County Attorney…is an elected official. If he is not required to answer to any investigation concerning his failure to protect constitutional rights of a large group of constituents, a slim majority, or even a plurality, of voters could continue to support an unconstitutional regime that deprives a large number of citizens of rights to which they are entitled.”