Prosecutor's Reference: Medical Evidence and the Role of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners in Cases Involving Adult Victims

• NCJ Number: 236800
• Author(s): Jenifer Markowitz
• Date Published: December 2010
• Length: 40 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-TA-AX-K024
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
• Corporate Author: AEquitas
• Sale Source: AEquitas
• Publication Format: Document; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Information is provided for prosecutors regarding the role of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) in providing medical evidence in sexual assault cases, including the nature of medical evidence a SANE can provide and working with the SANE before and during trial.

Abstract

Sexual Assault Nurse Examine/Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SANE/SAFE) Programs emerged in the 1970s and now number more than 500 programs throughout the Nation. Examiners in these programs provide extensive psychological, medical, and forensic services for patents they examine following sexual assault. Although SANEs strive to collaborate effectively with law enforcement, prosecution, and advocacy partners, the role of the SANE is by definition independent and objective, with priorities defined by the patient's needs, rather than the investigation of the reported sexual assault. A SANE is essentially a healthcare specialist with distinctive knowledge and training in responding to patients presenting as sexual assault victims. SANEs who adhere to a health care approach increase the likelihood that a patient's statements will be admissible into evidence under the Federal Rules of Evidence 803(4), which allows for a patient's statement that would otherwise be considered hearsay to be admissible evidence, but only if the statements were made for the purposes of medical diagnosis and treatment. This publication contains a section that explains what can be learned from a SANE medical-forensic examination. This section discusses the following topics: medical evaluations that note no injury to the patient, limitations to the significance of genital injury, and the prevalence of external genital injury. The remaining sections of the report provide guidance to prosecutors on working with the SANE before and during trials in order to determine what evidence collected by the SANE in the health-oriented medical exam is relevant evidence for the trial. Appended supplementary information