Rape Case Dismissed

In a decision that dismissed a rape case involving two Virginia Tech football players, a judge ruled that Congress exceeded its authority by enacting a law that lets women sue their attackers in federal court.

Christy Brzonkala, the first woman to sue under the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, claimed the two players raped her in their dormitory suite in 1994.

She sought $10 million from reserve linebacker Antonio Morrison and unspecified damages against defensive back James Crawford. The judge earlier this year dismissed Virginia Tech and a third player, Cornell Brown, from the lawsuit.

Brzonkala contended the attack was motivated by their hatred of women and was not a random act of violence.

U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser ruled gender discrimination is not like racial bias, so the 1994 law patterned after the Civil Rights Act is unconstitutional.