Leftists Are Wrong. Kavanaugh Doesn't Have the Burden of Proof. That's the Way It Should Be.
It’s hardly a secret that America in 2018 has some deep and dividing wounds that need to heal.
It’s practically the entire basis of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” platform.
But that healing process will never be able to begin in earnest when the far left is so insistent on warping constitutional laws and rights to suit its politically driven agenda.
Now, to be fair, biases and partisan interpretations of the law are hardly unique to the far left. The far right can also be guilty of similar behavior.
The far left, however, has been particularly vocal about getting the law wrong in recent weeks after the bombshell allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. It’s such an offensive interpretation of fundamental American tenets that it needs to be called out.
When Christine Blasey Ford came out and accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in a drunken stupor more than 35 years ago, Americans were justifiably appalled. If the allegations are true, they are heinous.
Had things merely stopped there as the proper authorities attempted to get to the bottom of the decades-old accusations, there would be no issue. That obviously didn’t happen.
The far left went into overdrive and made the baffling declaration that the burden of proof was somehow on Kavanaugh and not on Ford. That is literally not how the law works.
Heidi Hess, director of the “progressive social network” CREDO Action, issued a statement Tuesday targeting Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins for suggesting that Ford be cross-examined about her accusation against Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing scheduled for Monday.
“Sen. Collins seems to have forgotten that Brett Kavanaugh is the one who has been accused of a crime, not Christine Blasey Ford,” the statement said.
“Senate Republicans must not attempt to put Christine Blasey Ford on trial or otherwise use Monday’s hearing to attack her character. Christine Blasey Ford has offered an extremely credible account of sexual misconduct committed by Brett Kavanaugh.”
Hess saved her most precious gem for last.
“The burden of proof rests exclusively with Brett Kavanaugh, who has shown repeatedly in recent weeks that he has no problem lying under oath to advance his career.” (emphasis added)
It’s not just CREDO Action.
Shaunna Thomas, founder of the liberal group UltraViolet, also issued a statement that misrepresents the case.
“Senator Susan Collins is dead wrong. Her call for Brett Kavanaugh’s attorney to cross examine Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is beyond shameful,” Thomas said in the statement.
UltraViolet purports to be “an online community of over 1,000,000 women and men who want to take a collective action to expose and fight sexism in the public sector, private sector and the media.”
Thomas’ statement was eerily similar to the sentiments from CREDO Action.
“Let me say this as clearly as humanly possible, Christine Blasey Ford is not on trial here,” the statement said. “This is not a trial. It is Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault hearing and a job interview for the highest court on the land and the burden of proof is solely on Brett Kavanaugh.” (emphasis added)
I cannot be emphatic enough about this: the burden of proof should never be on the accused. If that’s how the court of law worked, our jail systems would be overflowing. It’s exceptionally difficult to disprove a negative, let alone when the specifics of the negative are anecdotal and from three decades ago.
At National Review, attorney and columnist David French put the case succinctly at the end of column posted Monday:
“Of course, the memory challenges run both ways, but — at the same time — if a person is going to affirmatively accuse another person of misconduct, the accuser bears at least some burden of proof (even if the court of public opinion isn’t a court of law). … And if there isn’t any corroboration or external evidence outside of Christine Ford’s three-decades-old recollections, that’s simply not sufficient basis for derailing the nomination of an outstanding jurist — no matter how fiercely they’re believed.”
The burden of proof should always be on the accuser. Otherwise, all it would take for a conviction would be a mere accusation.
If the far left truly wants to bring everyone together, they should start by bringing themselves together at a library and doing some rudimentary reading on law.
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