Saturday, October 6, 2018

Did the Democratic Senators miss the Class on Due Process?

Senator Dianne Feinstein is the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She is the only one of the ten Democrats who is not a lawyer. The other nine Democrats are all graduates of the nation’s most elite law schools: Richard Blumenthal (Yale) Cory Booker (Yale) Chris Coons (Yale) Richard Durbin (Georgetown) Kamala Harris (Hastings) Mazie Hirono (Georgetown) Amy Klobucher (Chicago) Patrick Leahy (Georgetown) Sheldon Whitehouse (Virginia) These elite law schools have outstanding faculties. They teach courses in Constitutional Law and Criminal law. They teach due process and the presumption of innocence. Due process traces back to the Magna Carta. It is the bedrock of the Anglo-American legal system and the human rights of the people. Due process is the essence of the Fifth Amendment. Citizens would be subject to the whim of the sovereign (king, emperor, sultan, shah, sheik, emir, president, prime minister, dictator) without due process and the presumption of innocence. These Democratic Senators are turning the #MeToo Movement into today’s McCarthyism – guilt by accusation. Proof is unnecessary. The Democrats’ statements and actions show a blatant disregard of due process, the presumption of innocence, and the rights of Judge Kavanaugh. They start and end with the presumption of guilt on the part of the judge because it suits their political goals. Trashing the Rule of Law for political advantage, if successful, can be the death knell for our democracy and republic. Once the abusers taste success through unbridled power, they can find it addictive and intoxicating. Many believe Judge Kavanaugh is guilty through association because he is a white male. White males sexually assault women. Thus the judge must be, is guilty as charged. Cory Booker uttered the ultimate denial of due process: “It doesn’t matter if Judge Brett Kavanaugh is innocent or guilty. He should be voted down: Ultimately, not whether he’s innocent or guilty – this is not a trial –but ultimately, have enough questions been raised that we should now move on to another candidate?” It’s enough “that his credibility has been challenged by intimates ….” By this reasoning, if enough charges, no matter how spurious, are hurled at a nominee, then the nominee is unqualified for office. Of course, the Senator said in July that it would be “evil” to support the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh. Senator Hirono doesn’t believe in the presumption of innocence for conservatives. She said the judge has no presumption of innocence because of “how he approaches his cases – He’s very outcome-driven, he has an ideological agenda.” She attacked Judge Kavanaugh’s “lack of credibility” and “inability to be fair” because “I put his denial in the context of everything that I know about him in terms of how he approaches his cases.” She responded when asked if she were open to voting for Judge Kavanaugh: “Maybe if he turns miraculously into a Sotomayor.” The irony is that she asserted Judge Kavanaugh is suspect because he “doesn’t even get the basics of the law.” Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is also a Harvard Law School graduate as is Congressman Adam Schiff. Senator Schumer vowed to stop the nomination with everything in his power. Some Democrats are threatening impeachment of Justice Kavanaugh if he is confirmed and they gain control of the House. Representative Jerrold Nadler (Fordham Law School), ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said: “If he is on the Supreme Court and the Senate hasn’t investigated, then the House will have to.” Justice Kavanaugh was subject to intensive investigations. The problem for the Democrats is that they found nothing to corroborate unverifiable claims from 3½ decades ago. A Nancy Pelosi led House of Representatives will ignore due process. Representative Nadler warned “We would have to investigate any credible allegation, certainly of perjury and other things that haven’t been properly looked into before.” He also said about the FBI investigation if not a “free hand” investigation: “If they don’t , that’s a real problem. It would call into validity the entire Senate process. I would hope that Senator Flake and others would make clear that their votes will not be for the nominee unless there is a free hand for proper investigation of these very serious allegations of sexual assaults.” Does Representative Nadler really want to drag Dr. Ford back to D.C. for what could well be a brutal cross-examination that could emotionally crush her? Senator Whitehouse said: “As soon as Democrats get gavels,” they will further investigate the allegations. Representative Eric Swalwell (Maryland Law) said: “If the Republicans rush through a nominee where you have unanswered sexual assault allegations, I can promise you that Democratic senators will be interested in going and looking and those allegations, and if Judge Kavanaugh lied under oath, you could see a judicial impeachment, and that’s not good for anybody, so we should try and avoid that.” The Democrats already believe Judge Kavanaugh has lied. If the Democratic lawyers are unconcerned about due process and the presumption of innocence now, why will they worry about evidence or proof in the future? The dilemma for the Democrats is who should be impeached first: President Trump or Justice Kavanaugh? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Haven't the Democrats learnt that what goes around, comes around? Justices Grouch and Kavanaugh are on the Supreme Court because then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid eliminated the filibuster on federal district and appellate court judges? Impeaching a judge for political reasons is incredibly dangerous. If it occurs, the Republicans would love to toss the liberals off the Court.

No comments: