JUDGE JOHNSTON CORRECTLY PUTS FOCUS BACK ON CRIME

Although A judge's duty is to rule according to the law on the case before
him, Mobile County Circuit Judge Joseph Rusty Johnston has also sent a
welcome message to victims of sex crimes with his ruling that a
court-ordered urine sample given by a rape victim should not be tested for
drugs.

Judge Johnston could not undo the earlier outrageous court order by
District Judge Delano Palughi that the victim be tested for drugs five days
after the attack.

But he reacted promptly and properly in reviewing Judge Palughi's erroneous
decision at the request of the prosecution, by ensuring that the sample
won't be tested. (It will be preserved, however, while the defendant
continues to pursue the matter through the legal system.)

As Judge Johnston correctly observed during last week's court hearing on
Judge Palughi's original order for the drug test, The victim hasn't been
accused of a crime.

Whether the victim was or wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol,
either on the night of the crime or five days later, has no relevance to
whether or not she was raped, as Assistant District Attorney Ashley Rich
correctly noted.

Prosecutors and those who work with victims of sexual assault and abuse
feared that Judge Palughi's inappropriate handling of this case would deter
victims from reporting such crimes and leave criminals free to commit
violent acts again.

Rape is a crime, and the court system must now determine whether the
defendant is guilty of it. Judge Johnston's ruling puts the focus back on
the crime, not the victim.