US Judge Kavanaugh hearing process is traumatic! Fairness of process is what is vital

Last updated on 30th Sept. 2018

I think finally it boils down to fairness of process. We are talking of, on one side, the name, reputation and life of a man and his family, and, on the other, about the very serious allegations of sexual assault that a lady/2 ladies claims was inflicted on her/them by Kavanaugh.

Traumatic stuff!

Saw this interview of Judge Kavanaugh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEGNt5EwGo, around 20 mins. published by Fox News on 24th Sept. 2018

What I liked in it was that the Judge repeatedly said that he wants due process so that he can give his view and protect the name and reputation of him and his family. I think the demand of the judge is very fair.

But then he & his family, as well as the person(s) making the accusations against him, have got caught up in US Senate confirmation rules and politics. The majority in the Senate may not bother so much about due process which will take long (e.g. an FBI investigation) but focus on achieving their goals of getting Kavanaugh on the US Supreme Court before the mid-term elections!

My God! Judge Kavanaugh and his family have got caught up in this US politics stuff. I have to say that I find it terrifying and traumatic to see this politics impacting a Judge and family's life so badly. I am sure that the trauma may be no less for the accuser(s) but as they have not yet given TV interviews (as far as I know), it is difficult to know the extent of their trauma.

Perhaps the process of US Senate confirmation of a Supreme Court justice should be changed so as to prevent such horrific trauma being inflicted on a nominee. Perhaps there should be a well defined time window within which such complaints can be made which will then automatically trigger an FBI investigation and thereby avoid US Senate and media becoming the judge of whether the accusations are true or false (or not sure of truth or falsity of accusations).

Note that I am not saying anything about whether Kavanaugh is innocent or guilty. We don't know now. But the US Senate does not seem to be a just place to decide that. Well, it does not really decide whether he is guilty or not, but only decide whether he gets confirmed or not. But the intense media spotlight on it, makes it almost a guilty and not guilty trial by US Senate that is broadcast and commented upon by US media.

My prayers to God to help both Judge Kavanaugh and his family, and the accuser(s) (Dr. Ford and another person) and their families, to handle this trauma, and to help the truth get revealed.
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An update.

My God! These new allegations are horrifying - signed affidavit from alleged victim of gang rape not by Kavanaugh but in presence of Kavanaugh! Kavanaugh is reported as denying it and saying, "This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone. I don't know who this is and this never happened" Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/26/politics/julie-swetnick-allegation-kavanaugh/index.html

Hmm. What a terrible situation! We are talking about a nominee to the highest court of the USA and serving for life.

Are the allegations true - now there are 3 ladies making very serious allegations about Kavanaugh's behaviour as a student - or are they a smear campaign? Not clear as of now.

I think this is turning out to be more vicious than the attacks in the 2016 US presidential campaign!
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The CNN report says that Kavanaugh has denied these new allegations under penalty of felony (up to 5 years of imprisonment if, as per my understanding, his denial is proved to be a (deliberate) lie).
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In response to a comment on my FB post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2297952180421346, associated with part of the above post contents, "There is a lot more going on here than what you are observing from the outside in India."
I (Ravi) wrote (slightly edited): Yes, I am sure that would be the case. Nonetheless my view based on limited Internet based exposure is still a relevant view, given the importance USA plays in the world, as well as closer USA-India ties at people level and country level, and that the nomination is for the US Supreme Court Justice position! Both in USA and India, the (federal) Supreme Court has become a vital instrument of democracy with some of its decisions having a major impact on life of the people of the country.

Note that my focus is on the fair process thing. I am NOT saying Judge Kavanaugh is innocent. I am NOT saying Dr. Christine Ford is wrong. I don't know for sure who is right and who is wrong. Given the very serious nature of Dr. Ford's allegation against Judge Kavanaugh, my stand is that one needs a proper body which has time-tested and evolved-over-time process to investigate the charge and arrive at the truth. The US Senate or the US media are NOT such proper bodies/groups to investigate and arrive at the truth on this very serious charge.
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In response to comments, I (Ravi) wrote: Actually, in my limited reading & viewing of this matter over the Internet, I noted that quite a few Democratic Senators wanted an FBI investigation. That is the right "due process", it seems to me.

At least one Republican Senator has argued that if they were told about this matter when Sen. Feinstein had received the anonymous letter (I am not getting into whether that would be right or wrong), they would have got the FBI to investigate. But that because it got sprung on them at the last moment, they want to go through with the vote without FBI investigation (this is before Sen. Jeff Flake forced the matter resulting in a 1 week FBI investigation).

What I feel is that any credible serious criminal charge like what was made by Dr. Ford against a Supreme Court Justice nominee, should automatically result in an FBI investigation (not just a 1 week limited one). Till the investigation is done and the nominee is given a clean chit by the FBI, the nomination should be on hold, irrespective of whether there is any near future Senate election or not.
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