Abstract
Across the nation, many states have started clearing their backlogs of thousands of untested sexual assault kits. Most states have also implemented legislative and procedural safeguards to improve sexual assault investigation and prevent future backlogs. This article first posits that states seeking to address their sexual assault kit backlog should consider Nevada’s approach, which successfully eliminated the backlog and simultaneously reformed its sexual assault investigation procedures. However, this article primarily argues that, without allocating reoccurring future funding to support the recent legislative and procedural changes, states run the risk of future backlogs of sexual assault cases. State legislatures and policymakers must consider the potential effects that a future backlog would have on sexual assault investigations and, even more importantly, on the victims’ much-deserved justice and closure.
Recommended Citation
Bryan Schwartz,
Justice Delayed Is Not Justice Denied: Considerations and Concerns for Addressing the National Sexual Assault Kit Backlog,
90 U. Cin. L. Rev.
(2021)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.uc.edu/uclr/vol90/iss1/4