RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- For the first time, a federal appeals court on Friday declared unconstitutional a 1994 federal law that allows rape victims to sue their attackers for violating their civil rights.

Ruling 7-4 in the case of a Virginia Tech student who sued two football players, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals called the Violence Against Women Act a ''sweeping intrusion'' into matters traditionally handled by the states.

The court said Congress stretched too far its interpretation of its right to regulate interstate commerce when it passed the law.

A lower court judge had previously thrown out the Virginia Tech student's lawsuit. The student, Christy Brzonkala, was the first person to sue under the Violence Against Women Act.

The appeals court ruling is binding only in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Eileen Wagner, one of Ms. Brzonkala's lawyers, said she expects the case to go to the Supreme Court.

''They can either give it a thumbs-up -- in which case people will use this law, which they are reluctant to do now -- or a thumbs-down, which would encourage Congress to go back to the drawing board and rewrite the thing,'' Ms. Wagner said.

Ms. Brzonkala, who has allowed her name to be disclosed, said she was raped in a dormitory. She did not report the alleged incident for several months and no charges were filed against the two players, Antonio Morrison and James Crawford.

Their lawyers did not return calls for comment.

Ms. Brzonkala's lawyers defended the Violence Against Women Act by arguing that gender-motivated violence affects commerce by imposing medical and legal costs on victims, inhibiting travel by those who fear violence and lessening productivity.

The appeals court rejected that line of reasoning.

''Such a statute, we are constrained to conclude, simply cannot be reconciled with the principles of limited federal government upon which this nation is founded,'' Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig said.

The appeals court said Congress could not enact the law under the Constitution's 14th Amendment, either. The 14th Amendment bars states from denying people equal protection under the law.

In a dissent, Circuit Judge Diana G. Motz wrote that Congress had clear authority to enact the law.

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