Jacque Hollander appeals Rape law suit vs. James Brown, the God Father of Soul …

Jacque Hollander, who claims that in 1988 James Brown raped her at gunpoint is asking the Supreme Court to hear her sexual harassment lawsuit. A lower court had earlier ruled this year that the statute had run out and she had waited too long to file. The statute of limitations on a case such as Hollander’s is just two years.

But the lower court  judge didn’t buy Rosen’s arguments, stating in June 2005 that  the clock started ticking  when the  the alleged  assault took place. The case was also rejected in August by a federal appeals court, meaning the Supreme Court  is her final option. (E Online)

According to sources close to the case Jacque Hollander has passed a lie detector test. Also, according to our sources Hollender has forensic evidence from the time of the rape. DNA sophistication in 2006 is quite a bit more advances than 1988.

Jacque Hollander argues that the state’s two-year statute of limitations in such cases does not provide equal protection to women.

In her lawsuit, Hollander said Brown raped her at gunpoint in 1988 while she was working as his publicist. She seeks $106 million in damages. (Mercury News)

According to court papers filed in 2005,  Hollander states the attack took place while the  two were driving to a South Carolina car dealerships.

Brown allegedly drove to a secluded area, threatened Hollander with a shotgun and, per the suit, “raped, beat and mentally tortured her over the course of several hours.” Hollander also claims the Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer threatened to kill her if she reported the incident.

Jacque Hollander’s attorney, Donald Rosen, had argued that because  Hollander did not  learn of the source for the previous diagnosed  disease until 2003, and filed her initial complaint in 2005; the lawsuit was well within the  time frame  of the statute.

In 2000, 12 years after the alleged rape, Hollander says she was diagnosed with a thyroid condition, the autoimmune disorder Graves’ disease. Three years later, she says she learned the condition developed as a result of the intense stress of the assault, a common trigger for the disorder. (E Online)

The appeal will be based on the fact that  the time limit is unfair toward victims, particularly women who need equal protection of the law.

Whether the State of Illinois’ two-year statute of limitations that includes sexual assault as a personal injury subject to the same limitations as other personal injuries, fails to provide due process of law, and fails to provide equal protection to women, and so violates the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 USCS Â § 13981.

Attorney Donald Rosen also references the Violence Against Women Act as well.

The application of the statute of limitations in a manner which, under the factual circumstances, effectively denies a person (whether male or female) of due process in pursuing a remedy constitutes state action in violation of due process. Moreover, Congress has recognized the need for special protection against gender-based violence and so, in 1994, enacted the Violence Against Women Act, 42 USCS 13981.

Jacque Hollander’s attorney is also arguing that the 2 year statute should be tolled due to the death threats made by James Brown.

Petitioner also argued that the statute of limitations should be tolled for public policy and estoppel reasons due to the death threats made by Respondent James Brown, and reasonably believed by Petitioner, that restrained Petitioner from filing the lawsuit within the statutory period.

Debra Opri, James Brown attorney calls Hollander’s request for the Supreme Court to hear the case, “A pipe dream.”

AP News

James Brown, Smoking Gun: James Brown has pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge (pictures available)

UPDATE: According to reports Larry Garrison is the spokesperson for Jacque Hollander