Alan Dershowitz

            My VIP for this week is Alan Dershowitz. He is a Democrat and a former Harvard law professor. I like him because he seems to speak the truth even when it goes against the message that most Democrats are spreading.

            Dershowitz was recently on the Tucker Carlson Show where he spoke about a claim that sexual assault victims do not need evidence to take their claim to a court of law. Sunny Hostin, a former prosecutor, made the following claim on an episode of “The View:” “After 40 years we’ve finally changed the law. We finally said a woman’s word is enough. I’ve taken many cases to trial with just a woman’s word.”

            Mike Brest reported on the conversation between Carlson and Dershowitz and even provided video of it. Carlson asked Dershowitz if Hostin’s statement is true, and he answered with the following statement.

Technically it is true, the law was changed some years ago, and I think it was a good change. So that if a woman, who was raped, immediately goes to the hospital, gets a rape kit, identifies her assailant, knew her assailant previously, certainly her word would be enough.

But if it’s 35 years old, if her main witness said “no, she wasn’t there,” if there are inconsistencies in the story, then obviously, the testimony of the woman, though technically sufficient, would not be enough to convince any reasonable factfinder beyond a reasonable doubt.

            Dershowitz was clearly referring to the charges made by Dr. Brown about Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Carlson asked Dershowitz several questions about believing a woman and if women should be believed more than men. Dershowitz added a caution to consider about the truthfulness of the victim’s statement.

First of all, not only are you allowed, but if you’re on a jury you are obliged to presume the innocence of the defendant which means you cannot presume that the witness is telling the truth. You have to look at the totality of the circumstances.

            Dershowitz continued by saying that we have seen many cases where women told the truth and men got away with the assault, but we have also seen many cases where women have lied and innocent men have been punished.

            Even though Democrat Senators and their protesting supporters did not give Kavanaugh the benefit of the doubt, the American way is to assume someone is innocent until there is sufficient evidence to prove otherwise. I am grateful to have a Democrat step forward and make a statement against the circus in the Senate confirmation hearing.