The Thirty-Fifth Public Meeting of the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces was held on Tuesday June 11th and Wednesday, June 12th, 2024.

Arlington, VA - The thirty-fifth public meeting of the Defense Advisory Committee on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces ("DAC-IPAD" or "the Committee"), was held on Tuesday, June 11th, 2024 and Wednesday, June 12th, 2024.

The DAC-IPAD was established by the Secretary of Defense in February 2016, in accordance with section 546 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, as amended. The Committee is tasked to advise the Secretary of Defense on the investigation, prosecution, and defense of allegations of rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault, and other sexual misconduct involving members of the Armed Forces based on its review of such cases on an ongoing basis.

During the public meeting sessions on June 11^th, the Committee received testimony from government and defense appellate counsel regarding the enforcement mechanisms for Art. 6b rights and procedures for post-conviction review of courts martial. The day concluded with a session to hear perspectives on the scope of Military Rule of Evidence 513 and on mechanisms to enforce Art 6b rights during the pretrial and trail phase of a case.

On June 12^th public sessions included a discussion with conviction integrity units focused on best practices for establishing conviction integrity units and unique considerations in sexual assault cases. Additionally, Staff will present on the demographics of panel members detailed and empaneled in courts-martial completed in FY 2022.

The DAC-IPAD welcomes written input from the public on this topics or other issues under its consideration. Written comments must be received by the DAC-IPAD at least five (5) business days prior to the meeting date so that they may be made available to the Committee members for their consideration prior to the meeting. Written comments should be submitted via e-mail to the DAC-IPAD at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please note that since the DAC-IPAD operates under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, all written comments will be treated as public documents and will be made available for public inspection. The Committee will not receive oral statements from the public at this meeting.

More information about the Committee, including the meeting agenda and materials, is available on its website at http://dacipad.whs.mil. In the event the Office of Personnel Management closes the government due to inclement weather or for any other reason, please consult the website for any changes to public meeting dates or time.