Submitted by Jeff Buster on Mon, 10/15/2018 - 14:20.
CNN carried an article by Mr. Honig in which he analyzes Melania Trump's demand that women who are sexually assaulted produce "hard evidence" of the "assault" if they intend to complain and be believed.
That's like telling someone who was pick-pocketed that unless they can produce a video of the thief going into their pocket then they can't complain their wallet is gone. Stupid. Totally unrealistic. Totally unfair.
Read the Honig discussion - that in our jurisprudence system it is not about how many people say one thing - not about the popularity of the opinion - but about the jury believing more in a single witness.
"To the contrary, the law places great weight on the testimony of a witness, even if that witness stands alone. Judges commonly instruct juries that even the testimony of one witness, if credited, can be enough to convict a defendant in a criminal trial beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the highest standard of proof known to our legal system -- and that's even in the absence of other corroborating evidence."
Jeff - I should probably not even reply - but as a man, you know where the power lies. Men can get away with a lot - and they play dirty a lot. Women can play dirty, too. And, they do. How do men exercise their power in society? Bossing people around is one way. Women have a harder time exercising power. I posted this photo on Wonderopolis - in a review of the book Amal Unbound http://wg.wonderopolis.org/blog/strong-girls-change-the-world
America fools itself into thinking that we have great rights for women, because we aren't forced to wear burqas. It's a lie. Reputation is everything here. With the recognition that women have been assaulted in our society #MeToo has gained a lot of traction and forced men to acknowledge their past bad behavior. Have you been assaulted by a woman? I would guess, no. Have I been assaulted by a man ?- the anwer is yes. Do I live with it every day and want to make a federal case of it (also MORE than 30 years ago )? No. Melania has a point. Men should start thinking about how they approach women who may or may not be interested in them for sex. Socialize in groups - don't put yourself in a position where a woman might unfairly portray your behavior. Women have been doing it for years. So now, men can start thinking about protecting their reputations, too. And, FTR - criminalizing what may or may not have been Kavanaugh's behavior in high school - deserves the same backlash and scrutiny now on the sexual history that political figures like Martin Sweeney, Sherrod Brown, and Bill Clinton should expect and be forced to defend.
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Elie Honig analyzes Melania's double sided language
CNN carried an article by Mr. Honig in which he analyzes Melania Trump's demand that women who are sexually assaulted produce "hard evidence" of the "assault" if they intend to complain and be believed.
That's like telling someone who was pick-pocketed that unless they can produce a video of the thief going into their pocket then they can't complain their wallet is gone. Stupid. Totally unrealistic. Totally unfair.
Read the Honig discussion - that in our jurisprudence system it is not about how many people say one thing - not about the popularity of the opinion - but about the jury believing more in a single witness.
"To the contrary, the law places great weight on the testimony of a witness, even if that witness stands alone. Judges commonly instruct juries that even the testimony of one witness, if credited, can be enough to convict a defendant in a criminal trial beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the highest standard of proof known to our legal system -- and that's even in the absence of other corroborating evidence."
Criminalizing sex
Jeff - I should probably not even reply - but as a man, you know where the power lies. Men can get away with a lot - and they play dirty a lot. Women can play dirty, too. And, they do. How do men exercise their power in society? Bossing people around is one way. Women have a harder time exercising power. I posted this photo on Wonderopolis - in a review of the book Amal Unbound http://wg.wonderopolis.org/blog/strong-girls-change-the-world
America fools itself into thinking that we have great rights for women, because we aren't forced to wear burqas. It's a lie. Reputation is everything here. With the recognition that women have been assaulted in our society #MeToo has gained a lot of traction and forced men to acknowledge their past bad behavior. Have you been assaulted by a woman? I would guess, no. Have I been assaulted by a man ?- the anwer is yes. Do I live with it every day and want to make a federal case of it (also MORE than 30 years ago )? No. Melania has a point. Men should start thinking about how they approach women who may or may not be interested in them for sex. Socialize in groups - don't put yourself in a position where a woman might unfairly portray your behavior. Women have been doing it for years. So now, men can start thinking about protecting their reputations, too. And, FTR - criminalizing what may or may not have been Kavanaugh's behavior in high school - deserves the same backlash and scrutiny now on the sexual history that political figures like Martin Sweeney, Sherrod Brown, and Bill Clinton should expect and be forced to defend.