Trial By Jury
The US Supreme Court ruled on the presumption of innocence in 1930. The case was Taylor VS Kentucky. Some say that in the abscense of evidence to the contrary incense is assumed. It is a principal of criminal justice it is not a right.
Therefore, whether a confirmation process is a job application or a court proceeding is irrelevant. What is relevant is the 6th amendment. What is relevant is the right to an impartial jury. The right to an impartial jury.
It is true that Kavanaugh was never charged with a crime. However, he was accused of criminal activity. The confirmation hearing was not a criminal prosecution. Lynch mobs did not rely on criminal proceedings either. And there was no presumption of innocence in lynchings. Justice Thomas called his hearing a high-tech lynching of an uppity black man. The victim of a lynching is not provided the presumption of innocence. We should all be offended by lynchings. Kavanaugh was presumed guilty and the mobs are out in force.
Kavanaugh was convicted before he was named, much like minorities were guilty as soon as they were identified. Some would call those dark days in our nation’s history. Others are trying to bring them back. But we all know rich white guys lives do not matter. Mob justice may.
Not a court of law. Not a trial. Just the advise and consent process, a job interview, for a court position. Remember the 6th amendment? Reminder. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
When did senate chamber become a Star Chamber? When did the tenets of American Jurisprudence morph to an inquisition. A Supreme Court nomination has a national jurisdiction, it impacts us all. If the nominee is to be accused of criminal misconduct he has a constitutional right to an impartial Jury. According to the tenets of Voir Dire biased of impartial jurors should be removed from the process.
Now think about this for a moment. Is a panel of senators that have stated they will resist with all their might qualified to sit on a jury? Or, are they unqualified to advise or consent. They would be immediately removed from the process. Apply the same principal to the demonstrators. Should they have a voice, given their prejudice. How many black men have been exonerated by all white juries? Prejudice is a cultural disease.
It is not a job interview, nor a court of law. It is a judicial conformation process which should be governed according to constitutional principles and rights. Reference the 6th amendment. If the presumption of innocence does not apply to the rich and powerful, I pity the poor.
