Yes it is. You clearly don’t understand the definition of “evidence.” It is very obviously evidence in his favor. It is the job of the prosecution to neutralize that evidence and convince a jury that it shouldn’t be considered. Here, I have no idea what happened with the university, so I can’t really change the word…

Yes. I know. I followed the trial on a daily basis. There were several other key pieces of evidence, including the texts messages she had sent to her friend suggesting that he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. After seeing all of the evidence, I can only surmise that the county chose to prosecute him simply because…

I also have to say that when it is clear that a university is being investigated for mishandling of sexual assault, and they suddenly decide to expel a high profile person for sexual assault, I do look at it with suspicion. But that’s just based upon experience. And to be fair, I look at any reported crime with…

Yeah, I don’t know the answer. I would feel better about the lesser evidentiary standard of “preponderance of evidence” that universities follow in this situation if they had a good, standardized procedure for handling complaints. But it seems like the universities rarely do. They have no idea what they are doing and…

Yeah. I have a problem with the evidentiary standard as well, considering that “preponderance of evidence” is a civil standard and not a criminal one. If you were being tried in front of a jury, the standard would be beyond a reasonable doubt. But if the universities had a good, standardized process, then I’d feel…

I’m not saying that I believe he is innocent, but universities do get it wrong, particularly when they are under scrutiny for mishandling rape. Anybody remember Jordan Johnson, the star quarterback at the University of Montana who was accused of rape? He was immediately expelled from the university (who was under…

Except sometimes the person who was accused of rape wins. Jordan Johnson was a star quarterback at the University of Montana. He was accused of rape, and the University immediately expelled him (it was under investigation by the department of education for mishandling of sexual assaults at the time). That decision was…

I think so. It’s pretty scary.

In Russia, door runs into you.

No kidding. But even if that wasn’t the case, we should respect with a rape victim wants to remain anonymous and wants to keep the details of her rape confidential.

That could be true. People who raise entitled kids never believe their kids do anything wrong.

Exactly. I understand the frustration of wanting to know, but let’s not victimize her again because we are frustrated.

The victim here has chosen not to speak, which means she too wants the process to remain confidential. I understand questioning the confidentiality policy of a university when it seems to only be protecting a rapist, but here it also appears to be protecting the victim. If she doesn’t want her name or any of the…

I feel like we are on the exact same page. I just said that there in no way you could do that under the rules of professional responsibility in my state.

Exactly. There is no reason she would give up tens of millions in judgment when she can easily pay six figures for an attorney.

Yeah, I am not even sure that doing that would comply with the rules of professional responsibility in my state. My initial thought is that it wouldn’t. You can’t essentially double charge people for your services. Maybe you could give them a discounted hourly rate in exchange for like 10% or something, but it seems…

I hear you on that one.

Really? This seems like a stupid case to agree to contingency, given how much she was asking for. My last trial definitely cost my client six figures, but it is still cheaper than giving up millions of the judgment.

Wow. Mine doesn’t. We don’t take anything on contingency. And we certainly don’t take a percentage on top of billable hours.

Their assumption about attorneys’ fees is likely incorrect. Lawyers only get part of the judgment when they take cases on contingency fee, which typically occurs when the client cannot actually pay the attorneys their hourly fee. I doubt Erin Andrews needed to use a contingency fee plan. She probably paid her…