LESSONS OF THE JUDGE KAVANAUGH SITUATION

By Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is only the opinion of the author and for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

The system of laws of a nation is the underpinnings or basis of that society. It is like the operating system of a computer.

The legal system is a more basic level of society than anything else in the society, such as the health care system, buying and selling goods, or anything else. We cannot emphasize this enough.

In recent United States history, some wonderful legal principles have been either ignored or altered, and the result is moral and legal chaos. The judge Kavanaugh confirmation hearing is an example of this. Let us examine why.

Our bias. Before delving into the details, readers need to know that this website and its authors are staunch defenders of women’s health and safety, and we vigorously oppose all sexual misconduct.

Let us begin with a statement of the facts of the situation. This has been lacking in most news broadcasts.

FACTS OF THE CASE A OF OCTOBER 1, 2018

The confirmation process. The US Senate is in the midst of the confirmation process for judge Brent Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States. The judge has been through six background checks by the FBI and his criminal record is clean.

The hearing part of the confirmation process ended, and the final vote was to take place in a day or two. At that time, Diane Feinstein, a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, suddenly presented an allegation against judge Kavanaugh of assault and attempted rape.

The proper time to bring this out would have been during the hearing, but Ms. Feinstein waited. This should have disqualified the complaint and ended the matter. If a crime was committed, it should go to court, but no charges were ever filed.

Background. The alleged incident occurred 36 years ago. The accuser does not recall exactly when or where it occurred, except that it was at a party in Montgomery County, Maryland. Several witnesses she named have denied her allegation and refused to testify.

Judge Kavanaugh denies that the incident ever occurred. Two other men have come forward and said it was they, not judge Kavanaugh, who were involved in an incident at a party in 1982.

Filing charges. If a crime was committed, one wonders why no charges were filed. There are three possible answers. One is that the statute of limitation expired. The second is the accuser decided to forget the incident.

The third possibility is that Dr. Ford is lying, and knows it. She does not want to go to court because there she would have to follow court procedures and her lie would be discovered.

If judge Kavanaugh were charged with a crime, it would have to be according to the laws of the state of Maryland in 1982. At that time, sexual assault and attempted rape were classified in four categories by severity, and three of the classifications were misdemeanors.

Statutes of limitation. Misdemeanors in Maryland carry a one-year statute of limitation. This means the charges must be brought against a person within one year of the occurrence of the alleged incident.

Statutes of limitation are important in the law because as time passes, memories fade or are embellished, witnesses die or move far away, and evidence may be destroyed. All of this makes it much more difficult to investigate a crime properly.

Rape. Rape is a felony in Maryland and has no statute of limitation. However, Dr Ford did not claim that judge Kavanaugh raped her. She says she was held down on a bed and he put his hand over her mouth.

Juveniles. At the time of the incident, both parties were juveniles, another fact that complicates things because in Maryland (and in most other states) juveniles are treated more leniently than adults.

Legal opinion. According to the website, www.Heavy.com, Baltimore legal expert Randolf Rice believes that based upon the testimony of Dr. Ford, this case would be a level four sexual assault. This is a misdemeanor with a one-year statute of limitation.

If Dr. Ford is lying, she may well have planned the lie to fit into a level four sexual assault so that she can claim she cannot file charges, which would likely reveal her lie. Instead, her Democratic colleagues want a full FBI investigation, which is far more public and therefore more ruinous to the reputation of Judge Kavanaugh – whether or not he is guilty of any crime at all.

Senate Judiciary Committee investigation. The Senate Judiciary committee did their own investigation of the incident and found little support for the allegations.

However, they decided to let Dr. Ford present her complaint in person, which has unleashed a media circus, and many would say a travesty of justice and smearing of judge Kavanaugh’s name.

VIOLATIONS OF DUE PROCESS

Due process means following the correct procedures to carry out and enforce the laws. It is a very basic legal doctrine that is not being followed in this case in three ways:

1. Confirming a Supreme Court nominee is a specific process. It is not a court of law and is not empowered or designed to investigate crimes such as assault or rape.

The hearing part of the confirmation process had concluded when the allegation was brought forth. This, in itself, is highly suspicious because it is improper and smacks of a simple political maneuver to delay the confirmation.

In fact, the Democrats had the letter from the accuser during the entire hearing. They could have presented it during the hearing, but chose not to do so. They were most likely just trying to delay the confirmation.

This is a crime called obstruction of justice. The Ford allegation is obstructing not one, but the operation of two branches of the US government – the Senate and the judiciary.

An almost identical tactic was used during the confirmation hearing of judge Clarence Thomas. This should have been clearly recognized and the complaint given no further time or energy.

The US Senate should have continued the confirmation process. The could confirm the judge, or they might decide to wait and see if a criminal case develops from the allegations.

2. The Senate Judiciary Committee already investigated the allegation. As stated above, the people the accuser named as witnesses did not corroborate her story and won’t testify.

Meanwhile, two men came forth and said it was they, not Mr. Kavanaugh, who were involved in incidents at a party. Based upon this, the judiciary committee should have dismissed the complaint, but this was not done.

3. In American law, one is innocent until proven guilty. This is an aspect of due process of law and the essence of modern Western legal theory.

However, in this case, at least three Democrats on the judiciary committee and the media have stated that “we cannot presume innocence”.

This is a complete disregard for the principles of Western civilized law and a severe setback for civilization, in general. It is a throwback to communist, socialist and other dictatorship in which one is presumed guilty until proven innocent. The American people should be outraged by this and the Senators should be impeached and lose their jobs, since these lawmakers do not understand a basic principle of the law.

SLANDER

Another crime has been committed that few are speaking about. It is called slander. It occurs when the name or reputation of a person is damaged intentionally and without proof of any wrongdoing.

Falsely smearing good people’s names and reputations harms individuals, but also does great damage to a nation. Good people will tend not to come forth to serve the nation for fear of being slandered - exactly what has been done to Judge Kavanaugh.

SUMMARY

No system of laws is perfect, but the American legal system works quite well when procedures are followed. At this point, judge Kavanaugh must be presumed innocent.

Dr. Ford and the Democrats have been given far too much power and opportunity to spread their unsupported allegations, which are likely lies designed to derail or delay a nomination.

At of this date, the criminals are Dr. Ford and the Democrat senators. They are guilty of obstructing justice and slandering a man’s name. We hope they are brought to justice, in part to send a message that such delay tactics and slander need to stop.

For more details about the law, read Principles of The Law. To read about an effort to return America to its legal foundations, read The Scalia Project.

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