It’s not nice or politically correct to say, but people do sometimes lie to get money, revenge, power, attention, or political advantage. False allegations of assault have been documented.

Federalist
Adam Mill
SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

I stand athwart the streamroller of sexual misconduct complaints that crush the innocent, end marriages, and destroy careers. In the Me Too era, I am an employment attorney in the politically incorrect vocation of defending who must pay if misconduct is found.

My skin is thick, and I do not melt when asked, “How dare you!” I dare because I do not want the innocent to be wrongly punished. I know it’s a very unfashionable to advocate on behalf of the presumption of innocence, and I am often reminded of how insensitive and outdated the principle is in today’s climate.

Of course, courtesy to the alleged victim is absolutely essential to be effective. To do otherwise is completely counterproductive and quickly turns the focus from the facts to the conduct within the inquiry. So I go to great pains to make my questions respectful.

I don’t interrupt. I don’t impugn. I just ask the accuser to walk me through what he or she is saying entitles him or her to damages. We know from cases like the Duke lacrosse team that mob justice can trample defense of the falsely accused.

It’s not nice or politically correct to say, but people do sometimes lie to get money, revenge, power, attention, or political advantage. False allegations of sexual assault have been documented. Even the most pro-accuser advocates acknowledge that 5 percent of the claims are simply false.

When the complaint is “he said/she said,” we should not helplessly acquiesce to coin-flip justice that picks winners and losers based upon the identity politics profile of the accused and accuser. Experience with a career’s worth of complaints in hearings, depositions, and negotiations has taught me some tells, red flags that warn that an innocent person stands accused.

Without naming any particular accusation, I offer these factors for consideration to the fair-minded who remain open to the possibility that guilt or innocence is not simply a question of politics. I also remind the reader that politicizing these accusations have allowed men like Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, Matt Lauer, Les Moonves, Bill Clinton, and Keith Ellison to escape accountability. Nobody seems to care if they walk the walk so long as they talk the talk.

1. The accuser uses the press instead of the process.

Every company has a slightly different process for harassment and assault complaints. Often it begins with a neutral investigator being assigned to interview the accuser first, then potential corroborating witnesses. When an accuser is eager to share with the media but reluctant to meet with an investigator, it’s a flag.

2. The accuser times releasing the accusation for an advantage.

For example, when the accuser holds the allegation until an adverse performance rating of the accuser is imminent, or serious misconduct by the accuser is suddenly discovered, or the accused is a rival for a promotion or a raise, or the accused’s success will block an accuser’s political objective. It’s a flag when the accusation is held like a trump card until an opportunity arises to leverage the accusation.

3. The accuser attacks the process instead of participating.

The few times I’ve been attacked for “harassing” the victim, it has always followed an otherwise innocuous question about the accusation, such as: Where, when, how, why, what happened? I don’t argue with accusers, I just ask them to explain the allegation. If I’m attacked for otherwise neutral questions, it’s a red flag.

4. When the accused’s opportunity to mount a defense is delegitimized.

The Duke Lacrosse coach was fired just for saying his players were innocent. When the players dared to protest their innocence, the prosecutor painted their stories in the press as “uncooperative.” If either the accused or the accused’s supporters are attacked for just for failing to agree with the accusation, it’s a red flag.

5. The accuser seeks to force the accused to defend himself or herself before committing to a final version.

Unfortunately, this has become the preferred approach of the kangaroo courts on college campuses. It’s completely unfair because it deprives the accused of the opportunity to mount an effective defense. When the accuser demands the accused speak first, it is a strong indication that the accuser wants the opportunity to fill in the details of the accusation to counter any defense or alibi the accused might offer. It’s a red flag.

6. The accused makes a strong and unequivocal denial.

In most cases, there’s some kernel of truth to even the most exaggerated claims. When the accused reacts with a dissembling explanation full of alternatives and rationalizations, I tend to find the accuser more credible. Rarely, however, the accused reacts with a full-throated and adamant denial. When it happens, it’s a red flag that the accusation might have problems.

7. The accuser makes unusual demands to modify or control the process.

It’s a flag when the accuser demands a new investigator or judge without having a substantial basis for challenging the impartiality of the process that’s already in place.

8. When the accuser’s ability to identify the accused has not been properly explained.

In the Duke lacrosse case, the accuser was shown a lineup of photos of potential attackers. Every photo was of a member of the team. None were of people known to be innocent. It’s a red flag when an identification is made only after the accused appears in media and the accuser has not seen the accused for a number of years or was otherwise in regular contact with the accused.

9. When witnesses don’t corroborate.

10. When corroborating witnesses simply repeat the accusation of the accuser but don’t have fresh information.

It is now clear that accusations of sexual misconduct will forever be a tool to change results in elections and Supreme Court nominations. It’s disappointing to see so many abandon the accused to join the stampede of a mob that punishes any who ask legitimate questions about accusations.

These accusations destroy the lives of the accused, often men, and bring devastation to the women who love and support them. Some of the falsely accused commit suicide. When the mob attacks legitimate inquiry into the accusation, it’s a sure sign that the mob isn’t confident about the truth of the allegation. Rather than shrink in fear when attacked, we should take it as a sign that there is a risk that the accused is innocent, and the questions need to keep coming.

Link

Check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check, and check. (Oxford comma)

Wow the new allegations check off on all ten of these.

I think more than 5% are false these days.

Sometimes no reason or advantage is needed.

I talked to a woman one evening at a friends house.
She was in my high school class years before but never talked in high school.

Told her I was married had a kid where I worked, goodbye.

Next day after work, find out she told a coworker she slept with me????

Wife almost divorced me right then. What reason would she have to lie?? What would she gain??

Went to reunion last Sat, avoided her like the plague. Told new wife the whole sorted story.

That article should be published far and wide.

And read aloud on every network.

Sometimes Jenny is a horse you bet on.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:



5. The accuser seeks to force the accused to defend himself or herself before committing to a final version.

Unfortunately, this has become the preferred approach of the kangaroo courts on college campuses. It’s completely unfair because it deprives the accused of the opportunity to mount an effective defense. When the accuser demands the accused speak first, it is a strong indication that the accuser wants the opportunity to fill in the details of the accusation to counter any defense or alibi the accused might offer. It’s a red flag.

This is the biggest red flag to me with Christine Ford's demands that she go second after Kavanaugh. So far, Grassley has told her to go pound sand and I'm hoping this holds until she shows up Thursday, but I doubt she will.

I was accused of harassment about 20 years ago at the place I worked. I didn’t know it at the time but the owners and two of my friends who ran the place were subtly interrogating me over the course of a week. When I was told what happened I was at first confused as hell then I got angry. The woman’s husband had been calling all my friends trying to get them on his side and get me fired, the he called me and started making threats.

Turns out this woman was talking to one of her friends about me and when the husband heard and got jealous she threw me under the bus claiming I’d been harassing her. She got fired, her office was packed up and sent to her via fedex and that was the last I heard of it.

Well said.

And once again, if employers and male employees cannot protect or defend themselves against potentially baseless claims by women, those same employers are going to very subtly and quietly stop employing women. And who could blame them. These leftist nitwit women who keep hurling unsupported/false accusations with the demand they be believed and the accused be punished, are going to destroy the professional futures of thousands if not millions of women in the process. You wanna talk glass ceiling? More like an impenetrable glass wall around the entire business community.

I'm pretty sure someone is going to use this as part of their defense in a sex-discrimination suit.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
And once again, if employers and male employees cannot protect or defend themselves against potentially baseless claims by women, those same employers are going to very subtly and quietly stop employing women. And who could blame them. These leftist nitwit women who keep hurling unsupported/false accusations with the demand they be believed and the accused be punished, are going to destroy the professional futures of thousands if not millions of women in the process. You wanna talk glass ceiling? More like an impenetrable glass wall around the entire business community.

Last place I worked at, a guy in another department was accused of attempting to put his hand down the blouse of a girl in his department. HR got involved, of course, and accused him, completely ignoring the fact that the girl in question always wore turtleneck sweaters, which were impossible to get a hand into. Obviously a BS accusation, but middle management at the company had shifted over the years to all-female, and they were making a power play.

The guy who was accused quit on the spot, told the HR bitch to fuck off (loud enough to be heard throughout the company), and set up his own company.

The girl was spotted a couple weeks later by another employee, she was working her part-time job as a stripper at a local "Gentlemen's Club".

I don't know if the guy she accused ever found out about the stripper bit, but as poetic justice, his company was doing well last I heard, and the company we all worked at moved overseas and everybody lost their jobs.

This clusterfuck was one reason I took early retirement. I really wanted to keep working, but having seen Girl Power gain its evil grip over American companies, I didn't look as hard as I could have.