1/ We learned about Ford and Kavanaugh today by observing their demeanor, but the structure of the hearing made it hard to get at the truth. We learned from this hearing *despite* the format, not because of it.
A real trial or evidentiary hearing would have been very different.
A real trial or evidentiary hearing would have been very different.
2/ If an experienced trial lawyer had hours to cross-examine Kavanaugh, they would have been able to pin him down. At times, Senators elicited testimony that was not credible (like his answer about “Renate Alumni”) but couldn’t follow up before he ran out the clock.
3/ Without strict time limits, a lawyer could have walked Kavanaugh through all of the entries in his calendar, as the Republican prosecutor started to do before she was cut off. The lawyer also could have walked through the allegations of the other two women who came forward.
4/ More importantly, both sides could have subpoenaed witnesses and examined them. This hearing would have been very different with a dozen witnesses instead of just two. There are many background facts that could have been asked of those who knew Kavanaugh as a young man.
5/ Judges and juries evaluate credibility by examining many small facts and comparing a witness’s testimony to other pieces of evidence, large and small. Usually the closing argument of a lawyer involves weaving all of this evidence together to make a coherent whole.
6/ Not only were relatively few details elicited in this hearing, but the “closing argument” is largely short soundbites. That’s not a good format to weave together many complex pieces of evidence and analyze them.
7/ In any trial, it is a big advantage to have the last word. In a criminal trial, prosecutors have the last word and save their best arguments for the end. Here, Kavanaugh benefited from going last. The hearing would have been very different if Ford followed him.
7/ So in many ways the structure of the hearing dictated—or at least, highly limited—the result. The hearing was constructed to make it difficult out to arrive at the truth. The only part resembling a real examination was the questioning of Ford by the Republican prosecutor.
7/ Tonight I recorded a special episode of my #OnTopic podcast with @PattiVasquezCHI right after the hearing ended. We had a lot to discuss so be on the lookout for the podcast tomorrow. (That’s @CAH headquarters, where we taped, in the background.) /end 
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