Klay v. Panetta Oral Argument

The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the military sexual assault case Ariana Klay v. Leon Panetta. A lower court judge in 2013 dismissed the case in part due to a rule that shields federal officials from lawsuits. Ms. Klay, a former Marine officer, said she was raped while serving on active duty by a fellow Marine officer and another individual at the Marine Corps barracks. The officer was convicted of adultery but not rape. She sued former Pentagon leaders for allowing a hostile climate toward sexual assault victims and retaliating against those who reported such abuses. close