Supreme Court of the United States

[gcstomp]

The optics again are odd, with a career prosecutor tasked with spending hours parsing line by line of Ford testimony looking to jump on some minutiae of inconsistency. At same time Kavanaugh has thousands of documents directly relating to his legal outlook being withheld because, suck it, he is getting rammed through and doesnt matter what extremist view he stated in past.

[baldgriff]

Yeah - Im that misogynist, ammosexual, racist or whatever other slurs you have thrown in my direction over the last couple years.

Seriously -

We can claim that this is not a trial. Its not by the semantic definition as this is a "confirmation hearing". Anyone saying/believing that this is not a trial is fooling themselves. He is being tried in the court of public opinion and the bar that people here say is supposed to be high - is being held awfully low. Making decisions based on allegations and inference - while not weighing it against the almost 30 years of public service.

If this didnt come up 2 weeks ago - this matter would be done. This is why it seems more like a politically motivate hit job.

I dont know if it did or didnt happen - With what she stated, I cant tell if it did or didnt happen.

[baldgriff]

The optics again are odd, with a career prosecutor tasked with spending hours parsing line by line of Ford testimony looking to jump on some minutiae of inconsistency. At same time Kavanaugh has thousands of documents directly relating to his legal outlook being withheld because, suck it, he is getting rammed through and doesnt matter what extremist view he stated in past.

The burden of proof is not on the defender it is on the accuser. At least that is how it is supposed to work.

[Mithrandir]

Is that really surprising to you? He's suddenly all over the news and in the public spotlight after having been nominated by Trump for the supreme court and someone raises their hand. Seems reasonable to me that she would have been trying to forget it until now that he's all over the news.



Huh? They were quite detailed actually.



Umm... that's not proof. Did you expect that he would have written "sexually assaulted someone at a party" on his calendar. What a joke.



Those would be the same thing... ?

Good post!

[heyelander]

The burden of proof is not on the defender it is on the accuser. At least that is how it is supposed to work.

this is a job interview, not a criminal trial. Someone is giving him a bad reference.

[nots]

this is a job interview, not a criminal trial. Someone is giving him a bad reference.

His first time in front of the Senate was the job interview. This is defending himself against multiple crimes. Big, big difference

[baldgriff]

And here is Joe Biden telling people what Kavanaugh is saying. The FBI doesnt reach conclusions:

[DMT]

And here is Joe Biden telling people what Kavanaugh is saying. The FBI doesnt reach conclusions:

Is BG actually Chuck Grassley?

[Sour Masher]

And here is Joe Biden telling people what Kavanaugh is saying. The FBI doesnt reach conclusions:

I don't get the point in this context. Why do we need the FBI to reach a conclusion? We just need them to investigate and uncover more facts so that others can reach a conclusion.

[heyelander]

This is defending himself against multiple crimes. Big, big difference

Is there a chance he goes to jail as a direct result of the decision here?

[heyelander]

comment on FB

I have a suspicion born out of personal experience that Judge Kavanaugh's spirit of righteous indignation and defensiveness is going to play very well with many men. Why? Because this entire discussion has asked nearly every man to reflect back on their own history and view their lived experience through a different--and new--lens. And it makes them feel deeply vulnerable to having their own past rewritten in the form of an accusation, because their experiences may have been experienced very differently by other people.

Moving away from Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford's specific incident, I am not saying that every man has sexual assault in their past. Nor am I saying that this type of behavior is part and parcel of being a male teenager. But I have admitted on my own Facebook page in the wake of the #MeToo movement, that I would admit to being guilty of inappropriate behavior in the past, even if it was isolated and now long-distant. And I really was a very "good kid": a serious student, a hardworker, never "partied;" no joke, I was an Eagle Scout. I was devoutly religious, never drank a sip of alcohol, and was somewhat socially removed. And yet, we're all sexual creatures, and 17 year old boys are particularly sexual creatures. I think your average man looks back on their behavior in the remote past, and says to themselves, almost instinctually, "but for the Grace of God go I. That could easily be me and I'm in no way a sexual assaulter. Did I ever get frisky? Yeah. But that's not how it went down."

I think this is the power of the moment. And you are going to have two very different reactions: those, like Kavanaugh, who immediately become defensive and angry, for fear of being lumped together with all of those we label "evil;" and another group, that might take this opportunity to reflect on the gendered-nature of many of our interpersonal interactions, the complexity of adolescence, our culture, our changing norms, and the expectations that we have for both ourselves and others. I think one's choice of reaction (not Kavanaugh's reaction, but all of us men watching) reflects a lot on one's maturity and willingness to learn and grow. Regardless of the outcome here, I hope we all (men and women) come away wiser for the resulting discussion . . . But that means we need to actually have a discussion.

[nots]

Is there a chance he goes to jail as a direct result of the decision here?

No—that would be a trial. This isn’t that, nor is it a job interview

[Ken]

No—that would be a trial. This isn’t that, nor is it a job interview

Unless it is a trial there's no "burden of proof" to be discussed. That was the point.

[onejayhawk]

Is there a chance he goes to jail as a direct result of the decision here?

No—that would be a trial. This isn’t that, nor is it a job interview

So far there has not even been a crime established, just mights and maybes.

It is supposed to be a job interview but you have a point.

J

[baldgriff]

Ultimately it seems most everyone posting here has made up their minds as to who is guilty or not guilty.

Its unfortunate that this guy has been tried in the court of public opinion and has had to prove his innocence.

It may have started as a job interview - it is far from that now.


He cant be charged criminally or even in civil court - so where does he go to get his reputation back? This guy has no recourse - none whatsoever.