Cruise Ship Rape Lawyer Says Cruise Safety Bill Too Little

In the wake of the March 5-6, 2009 alleged rape on the Princess Cruise Liner, Coral Princess, lawmakers have introduced a cruise safety bill. I have been following this event since it occurred and so far it appears that a Princess Cruise ship waiter was charged with sexual assault by the FBI, and is awaiting trial in Central District Federal Court in Los Angeles County after the alleged passenger rape.

In recent years the cruise ship industry has faced criticism in high profile cases such as missing passengers and sexual attacks, while at sea. The cruise safety bill introduced Thursday will require the 38 billion dollar industry to report crimes at sea, to improve ship safety and to employ doctors that have training in assault examinations. Cruise ship doctors would also need to be U.S. licensed.

Princess cruise ship rape lawyer, Michael Ehline, a past contributor to Tanner and Haley News, based in Los Angeles, California, says the cruise safety bill is probably too little too late. In my interview with Ehline on March 15, 2009, I asked Ehline various questions as follows:

Q: Do you represent the victim of the Coral Princess alleged sexual assault?

Ehline: I have no comment as to who I do or do not represent at this time. It is the policy of the Ehline firm not to make a public spectacle out of cruise ship rape victims. However, I will say this, we don’t typically go to the national media and do press releases, or use celebrity attorneys to generate business.

We try and keep a low profile, meet the victim at the port of call here in Los Angeles, as our offices are just minutes away.  We try and get them away from the press and help the victim get the psychological support he or she needs. We also try and work to help the California federal prosecutors gather evidence, which hopefully will lead to a conviction of the rapist.

Q: Don’t you think not going to the press and identifying the victim will make it harder to get compensation for rape victims?

Ehline: On the contrary, I think attorneys who do that are shortsighted in their thinking. It can easily make a judge or jury think the victim is not really a victim at all. The only time I think the press is useful is to help effectuate new regulations, and to discredit the stories in the press that try and demonize the rape victims. Most of what I have seen online, or on the news generated by law firms, appears to be more hype and an attempt to get cases.

Q: What is the first thing a cruise ship rape victim should do?

Ehline: Well it depends. They are typically not in the right frame of mind to think clearly. But as a general rule, they need to contact the FBI immediately, and tell someone they trust about what happened to make a record. They must preserve evidence also. They should notify ship security as well as the ship’s doctor.

The dilemma here is that the cruise lines are common carriers and responsible for what happens on the ship. In other words, they are legally liable for the rape in most cases. So telling the defendant what happened sort of leaves the victim open to problems.

For example, the defendant cruise ship can lie, make up stories, issue bogus statements to the press before the ship even arrives in port, say they closed off a crime scene when they did not, or say they followed protocol when they did not, and numerous other things to mitigate a potential lawsuit or influence the public and/or a jury. Honestly, knowing this, the first thing I would do is contact a maritime lawyer and have my lawyer notify the FBI.

Q: Is there anything particular a rape victim needs to be aware of when attempting to retain a lawyer?

Ehline: Well there are many, but the most important thing is to know where the venue is the victim needs to sue, and where the case will be prosecuted against the rapist. Princess Cruise Lines require that any lawsuits brought against them be brought in California, as part of their passage contract.

I have seen many cases where the victim will hire an out of state lawyer to represent them who is not even licensed to practice law in the State of California. The cruise lines typically won’t offer as good of a settlement to an out of state lawyer in my opinion, because they don’t know California law, and the out of state attorney will have to associate another lawyer licensed in California to do the case here if it is against Princess.

So this means the out of state lawyer will have to refer the case to a lawyer here and share his or her fee. You tell me what you think is going to happen? Maybe they take the cheap settlement rather than share a larger one? It evens out and the client suffers.

The next issue is the criminal matter. How is a lawyer 3000 miles away going to attend the criminal matters and help the victim at the sentencing hearing of the criminal? And if your lawyer tells you a criminal conviction is not important, that is a sign that he or she doesn’t have a clue. The criminal conviction vindicates the victim and should easily lead to a quick and painless out of court settlement.

Q: What about the proposed legislation:

Ehline: Well what gets me angry is that there are already laws on the books. Look, the bulk of the cruise ships are registered in foreign countries, the companies are able to avoid paying income tax and they do not have to comply with the U.S. labor laws.

The recent bill that was introduced by Rep. Doris Matsui Democrat, Sacramento and Sen. John F. Kerry Democrat from Massachusetts requires that security latches and peepholes will need to be installed on cruise ships. How would a peephole have helped the most recent victim, when it is a crew member who is accused?

I agree about the guardrails, which will also need to be raised to the height of 54 inches.

Cruise ships will have to report some crimes to the FBI and to the Coast Guard according to this new bill. Rep Matsui stated that people going on cruises should be as safe as the can be and should feel safe. But my understanding that reporting sexual assault is that is already the law! After all the men overboard, all the rapes and cover ups, I just think this is way too little, way too late. Hiring cheap laborers from foreign countries who do not respect American laws, although not a politically correct thing to say, I believe is the major problem with cruise ships. I do not see that being addressed anywhere in any legislation. Foreigners need to be trained and educated as to what is legal and what is illegal and there need to be better background checks.  How do you know who these people are?

“We have now held two House hearings and one Senate hearing on crimes aboard cruise ships, and this legislation will ensure that those who have bravely stepped forward to tell their story will not have done so in vain.  For far too long, American families have unknowingly been at risk when they have embarked on what should have been relaxing sea voyages,” stated Rep. Matsui.

For Rep. Matsui, the call to action came when one of her constituents, Laurie Dishman, wrote to her for help in April, 2006.  Ms. Dishman was the victim of a sexual assault while on a cruise vacation, and was given no assistance by the cruise line in properly securing evidence of the assault, identifying her attacker who was an employee of the cruise ship, or prosecuting the crime once back on shore.  Frustrated, Ms. Dishman reached out to her Congresswoman for help.

“With news coverage of a recent rape by a crewmember on a Princess Cruise almost exactly three years after Laurie’s, it is clear that legislation is necessary. We learned during Congressional hearings that there has not been a conviction of an accused rape in recent history.  This legislation would increase safety, keep passengers informed, and improve crime scene preservation efforts,” stated Rep. Matsui.

Rep. Matsui called for multiple hearings that brought key executives in the cruise industry to testify before Congress.  Sen. John Kerry took up the cause in the Senate, holding a hearing as well.  Despite these fact-finding missions, the cruise industry has not yet taken sufficient action to regulate itself, spawning the need for comprehensive legislation.

“The term ‘duty free’ does not apply to the safety of passengers - the industry needs to act responsibly.  Cruise ships need to report crimes so that justice can be served and criminals can be held accountable,” said Senator Kerry.  “All crimes, regardless of a cruise ship’s shifting international jurisdiction, must be reported, investigated, or prosecuted.  We owe it to law-abiding citizens like Ken Carver who have lost loved ones on these ships to hold the industry’s feet to the fire and make sure this never happens again.”

“It is heartbreaking to hear the shocking tales of good people who have suffered, and futilely sought recourse in the wake of an assault or crime.  Our work will not be done until the cruise industry has stepped up and taken the necessary measures to provide a reasonable level of security for their customers. I will continue to fight to make sure that no person falls victim to harm on board a cruise ship as a result of inadequate oversight, reporting and safety precautions,” stated Rep. Matsui.