This was a view from the British side of the Atlantic into the hearings into Judge Kavanaugh’s fitness to be a US Supreme Court judge. It is an exposition of the principle established in 1215 in the writing of the Magna Carta, someone is only condemned on the basis of evidence and proof. It seemed that in the case of Judge Kavanaugh and especially in the wake of the “#Me Too” movement, this principle was in danger of being lost when a mere accusation, particularly against a man, poorly framed with plenty of contrary evidence, seemed enough to disqualify someone from public office. It looked as it it was a trial by media and a refusal to be objective, in the face of an enormous outpouring of emotion by abused women who wanted to group-project their hurt and inability to be heard into the public domain on the back of what should have been a legal process.

However, it was also a notable article in that there was quite a large thread of discussion with Elle Beau who had previously worked at the American Justice Department and believed that Kavanaugh had a case to answer. We did not agree but it was an excellent example of how people can disagree strongly but agreeably. Follow the responses!

A PDF version is found here.