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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   24835 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 16, 2023

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I'm not sure why it's important to discredit a witness in the public eye, instead of at trial where you're allowed to say all those things directly to the judge and jury.

This is basically a lie the government tells. The cop will tell you to save it for the judge. Your attorney will tell you not to talk to the public... AND he won't want you to testify at trial, and if you do it won't be you telling your story but a very formalized thing where the prosecutor asks you questions that make you look guilty no matter how they are answered, and your attorney asks you questions which make you look good if you answer the way he told you. You'll basically be moved through the system without ever actually having a chance to actually give your side.... even if you're not convicted.

That's interesting to know, and I believe it for the average person who gets a public defender, which is enough of the cases in existence that it's very relevant to the overall question.

In the specific examples here, though, do you really think that's what it will be like for Trump? Or would be like for the hypothetical rich newspaper owner?

I have the intuition that, if you're paying for your own team of 5 or 20 lawyers, you get a lot more time to talk and a lot more discretion over what you say.

But I have never actually watched any court proceedings in detail, so I could still be wrong.

For Trump it's even worse, because his lawyers know not to push his case too zealously or they'll end up prosecuted too, like Giuliani, like Cohen, like Powell.

There's a pretty big distinction between zealous representation and defamation. Participation in a matter of public importance doesn't give you license to make shit up out of whole cloth.

More importantly, there's also a difference between zealous representation and election fraud.

There's a pretty big distinction between zealous representation and defamation.

Indeed, as large as the difference between being a Democrat and being a Republican.

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