"Innocent until proven guilty" as a legal concept has NOTHING to do with civil allegations.

[ehrnst]

And in criminal cases, affects only whether and how we punish a defendant. It has NOTHING to do with the substantive evaluation of the claim against a defendant.

Taking all the facts alleged in the complaint as true can be better explained with three words: “Believe the plaintiff.” Of course, if the investigative phase we call “discovery” doesn’t yield any facts that support that claim, it will be dismissed. Of course, if after investigation the case goes to trial and the evidence doesn’t meet the applicable standard for swaying a decision in plaintiff’s favor (and there are different standards for different types of cases), the defendant wins. And if the claim is filed frivolously, there is a whole sanction process that will punish both the plaintiff and his or her counsel for not verifying a claim before filing. But as an initial matter, when the complaint is filed and the accusation is made, the official legal standard by which we assess the merit of a claim is that we BELIEVE THE PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATIONS IN THEIR ENTIRETY. And the claim only fails if, given the assumption of the facts, no legal violation has happened.

............................................
The year after I graduated from one of the top law schools in the country I went to clerk for a Federal District Court Judge. I tell you this up front because I want you to understand that what I am about to tell you is not an uninformed statement.
..................................................................

So why do so many rape apologists, mansplainers and others love to pretend that “innocent until proven guilty” is the correct frame when a man is accused of harassment, assault or abuse? It all comes down to preservation of privilege.

Remember, “innocent until proven guilty” is about keeping the defendant free from punishment. The only way that it could possibly be deemed relevant is if you are consciously entertaining the notion that the very process of having to respond to allegations of harassment, assault or abuse is a form of punishment. This is the driving idea behind the fact that when survivors come forward with their accusations, so many men and women decry the “horrible suffering” that is being visited on the accused, how this is “ruining his reputation” and how awful it is that his life is being disturbed by the sordid accusations. We as a society are trained to want to protect a man who is accused from being inconvenienced with potentially false accusations.
......................................................................................

This is why it’s so important to apply the correct standard, to foster the correct mindframe when an accusation is made. The victim deserves to be heard and deserves to seek redress, and forcing her to run a gauntlet of mistrust and abuse before she can even present her claim is disgusting and inappropriate. And yet, invariably that is what happens. A woman comes forward to accuse a man of harassment, assault or abuse, and immediately, she is greeted with those who want to dismiss her out of hand. We not only apply an incorrect standard to the accused, we fail to apply the correct standard to the claims of the accuser. We do not take as true the facts of her complaint until the investigation is complete. Because the fact is, our misogynistic society values the accused man’s future and well-being far more than the future and well-being of the woman who accused him.

That needs to stop. And you can help stop it by not using language you don’t understand to promote standards that are irrelevant.
Blithely parroting the phrase “innocent until proven guilty,” not only demonstrates ignorance of what that phrase means and its correct function in our legal system, it is siding with misogyny over justice. Believe women, at least until all the investigation is done and the facts are in. Because that’s how we really do things in our justice system.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/liz-georges/innocent-until-proven-guilty/10156776555837148/

[Fred Sanders]

1. Yes. Democrats applying the wrong standard has to stop...it is a trap.

"Blithely parroting the phrase “innocent until proven guilty,” not only demonstrates ignorance of what that phrase means and its correct function in our legal system, it is siding with misogyny over justice. (Edit - As Republicans do) Believe women, at least until all the investigation is done and the facts are in. Because that’s how we really do things in our justice system."

And there has been no criminal investigation done for Dr. Ford, Ramirez or anyone else, clearly.

Republicans claiming no corroboration of a criminal charge is...a coordinated propaganda ploy and coverup to keep our eyes off the ball...a trial of character now, criminal trials later.

[dlk]

2. Thank You for Sharing

God forbid entitled men might ever be held accountable for their destructive actions. Are they so fragile, the mere mention of accountability “ruins their lives”? That seems to take the “fragile male ego” myth to the extremes.