But doing those things is not dependent upon believing the victim. It’s merely the collection of evidence - evidence that could tend to convict or exonerate, depending on how it goes. Nobody needs to believe the victim in order to undertake a dispassionate evidence collection. I also think your analogy to burglary is…

I think you’re reading a lot into it that isn’t there. Personally, I don’t think she meant what you say. Clinton is a lawyer, same as me. She knows that the justice system isn’t the place for “victims deserve to be believed.” The justice system isn’t supposed to believe either victim or perp. It’s supposed to be a…

'dLet me ask you this: This site has been very, very unkind to Camille Cosby, who has stood by Bill’s side and generally refuted the women who’ve accused him. Do you think Camille is deserving of the safe deference you give Hillary? A lot of people have pointed out that Camille doesn’t just speak as Bill’s wife - she…

But I do think she has some grounds. Hillary did not know about Broadderick when it happened - but she knows now. She knew when she stated that "sexual assault victims deserved to be believed." When she said that, she knew that Broaddrick had accused Bill of rape. So in that sense, I DO see the reaction Broaddrick is…

Except “fiction” is not an excuse to be a dick. And honey, please - nobody is “policing” art. First, “policing” would come from a governmental entity. I don’t see one involved here! What we have are private individuals. This man does not wish to sell wands to those he surmises will use them for play purposes, since he…

Exactly. I think it has to do with expectations. I expected my ex to deny everything, call me names, etc. That’s standard stuff, you know? But for other people to do it - justify it, deny it, etc. - that hurt. People I believed were my friends. And some of them were really progressive, feminist-type ladies - but when…

I can speak a little to this, as a DV survivor. My ex and I had many mutual friends. After the incident happened, a lot of those mutual friends sided with him, for dubious reasons. Over time, I actually came to hate them more than I hated him. Oh, trust me, I hated him too. But them... It’s hard to explain, but I…

I don’t blame her if she wasn’t aware of it when she wrote the books - let’s face it, paganism is not a large religious tradition and they are not always visible. I do dislike that she’s apparently going against this guy. She could gently encourage her fans to purchase official Potter materials (and probably make some…

I’m of two minds about this. On one hand, I’m not a Pagan, so I can’t comment on how these things are handled, but at the same time, I get how this guy feels.

Except women don’t do that. If we did do that, John McCain would likely be the President right now because his VP pick would have mandated that we all vote with our privates. But we didn’t!

First question: If she was bipolar - and this was known - why was she not provided with supportive services prior to and during the trial? It’s common knowledge that mentally ill people are often fragile and stressors like a court case can trigger them. I know some localities provide victim support advocates or…

No, I’m not. I’m pointing out that the defense presented a plausible theory - one that is equally plausible to the prosecution theory. Given that either was plausible, the judge then had grounds for reasonable doubt.

Well then, I’d suggest you head down there and let a seasoned judge know that you figured this out far better than he did. In fact, why are you online? Shouldn’t you be out there dispensing incredible legal advice to the population? Quick, get out there before somebody else makes a decision you don’t like!

Uh, nope. The hinge of the case was his contention that his superiors FAILED to inform him of the SOP change. And other officers confirmed that they did not know either. So the BPD failed in their duty to tell him that he could no longer choose between belting or not belting. Criminal liability would require that Rice…

Absolutely, they can be sued. The City already settled with the Gray family for a substantial amount, and I would presume that the settlement agreement would include all city agencies, including the BPD. So they likely are already done with civil matters.

It depends. The relevant question there is "Did the employee's supervisor communicate the new SOP to them in a timely and effective manner?" An employee can't be liable for things they did not know and had no reasonable way of knowing. If Rice was genuinely not aware of the SOP change, that puts liability on his…

The problem is that there is a different between "responsible" and "criminally responsible." I would call the police "responsible" in that Gray sustained the injuries while in their custody. However, that doesn't necessarily translate into criminal liability. For that, you'd have to show, with evidence, that the…

Except your argument isn’t based upon, well, anything. To your points:

Except the defense had strong evidence that the SOP change had not, in fact, been communicated to all officers at the same time and that, at the time of the Gray incident, there were officers in the field who were not aware of it. So...yeah. Try harder. And read the reporters that actually live reported the trial.

It could be both or either. My understanding of the Gray case is that prosecutors have argued that Gray’s death was caused by a series of events that, combined, resulted in his death. They argued that the van driver subjected Gray to a “rough ride” and that Rice contributed to his death by failing to secure him. Both…