A few thoughts about Kavanaugh-Ford case.
1) I was a lawyer for 10 years and my professional opinion is that Ford is most probably full of shit. I have two reasons for that. Firstly, she has very convenient gaps in memory. She does not remember exactly when and where the incident happened - and this is exactly the information which could potentially allow Kavanaugh to refute the accusation by providing an alibi. And yet, this information is usually recoverable with some effort - so it is hard to believe that she sincerely has no way to recall it. Secondly, she ha pretty much admitted that she is strongly motivated by the desire to stop Kavanaugh's nomination, not by the desire for justice/revenge per se. It is not inconsistent with her story being accurate but it removes our prima facie reason to believe her: her motivation is not conditional on the truth of her accusations.
2) It is very obvious that actions committed in high school do not provide any information which could help us to evaluate a character of an adult person. I remember myself at the age of 17. I was a cretin and yet, I was one of the smartest boys in my school. Incidents similar to what Ford has described did happen and I can easily imagine many of my schoolmates doing something like that. Teenage boys are cretins with a very few exceptions but the good thing about them is that they grow up. This is why even if Ford's story is fully accurate, it would be totally unhelpful for the Senate to draw any conclusions about Kavanaugh's current persona. Therefore, the only reasonable action on behalf of the Senate would be to ignore her story entirely.
3) Contrary to a popular opinion, Ford's story is very easy to check. Of course, not by "beyond reasonable doubt" standard which is used in the court of law but by "expert opinion" standard. It is very difficult to lie convincingly and consistently. It requires mental discipline and a high degree of self-control which neither Kavanaugh nor Ford have, in my opinion. All you need to do is to send an experienced interrogator to question Kavanaugh, Ford, and Judge. It will take three days and by the end of the procedure it would be obvious for an expert who is telling the truth and who is not.
4) Still, it was very unreasonable for the Senate to ask FBI for a background check as it sets a terrible precedent. It is much easier to invent bullshit accusations than to check their credibility. In this way, such precedent creates a potential to delay any political appointment for eternity.
5) I think that Americans should take a few women who came out with accusations which have been proven false and through them to prison. This is the only way to restore sanity, as currently the cost of slanderous accusations is way too low.
6) By the way, the position of a person, who is being accused of crime, is always more difficult than the position of his accuser. I think, someone here asserted an opposite opinion. This is incredibly naive.
7) Contrary to what I have read in a bunch of liberal media articles today, Kavanaugh has a right to be angry about this situation and to express this anger. This is a right which any person unfairly accused of a crime has.
(And, of course, if he remained calm, he would be labeled as "cold" and "inhuman". There is no way to win this game.)
1) I was a lawyer for 10 years and my professional opinion is that Ford is most probably full of shit. I have two reasons for that. Firstly, she has very convenient gaps in memory. She does not remember exactly when and where the incident happened - and this is exactly the information which could potentially allow Kavanaugh to refute the accusation by providing an alibi. And yet, this information is usually recoverable with some effort - so it is hard to believe that she sincerely has no way to recall it. Secondly, she ha pretty much admitted that she is strongly motivated by the desire to stop Kavanaugh's nomination, not by the desire for justice/revenge per se. It is not inconsistent with her story being accurate but it removes our prima facie reason to believe her: her motivation is not conditional on the truth of her accusations.
2) It is very obvious that actions committed in high school do not provide any information which could help us to evaluate a character of an adult person. I remember myself at the age of 17. I was a cretin and yet, I was one of the smartest boys in my school. Incidents similar to what Ford has described did happen and I can easily imagine many of my schoolmates doing something like that. Teenage boys are cretins with a very few exceptions but the good thing about them is that they grow up. This is why even if Ford's story is fully accurate, it would be totally unhelpful for the Senate to draw any conclusions about Kavanaugh's current persona. Therefore, the only reasonable action on behalf of the Senate would be to ignore her story entirely.
3) Contrary to a popular opinion, Ford's story is very easy to check. Of course, not by "beyond reasonable doubt" standard which is used in the court of law but by "expert opinion" standard. It is very difficult to lie convincingly and consistently. It requires mental discipline and a high degree of self-control which neither Kavanaugh nor Ford have, in my opinion. All you need to do is to send an experienced interrogator to question Kavanaugh, Ford, and Judge. It will take three days and by the end of the procedure it would be obvious for an expert who is telling the truth and who is not.
4) Still, it was very unreasonable for the Senate to ask FBI for a background check as it sets a terrible precedent. It is much easier to invent bullshit accusations than to check their credibility. In this way, such precedent creates a potential to delay any political appointment for eternity.
5) I think that Americans should take a few women who came out with accusations which have been proven false and through them to prison. This is the only way to restore sanity, as currently the cost of slanderous accusations is way too low.
6) By the way, the position of a person, who is being accused of crime, is always more difficult than the position of his accuser. I think, someone here asserted an opposite opinion. This is incredibly naive.
7) Contrary to what I have read in a bunch of liberal media articles today, Kavanaugh has a right to be angry about this situation and to express this anger. This is a right which any person unfairly accused of a crime has.
(And, of course, if he remained calm, he would be labeled as "cold" and "inhuman". There is no way to win this game.)
