Not that it matters to Leftists who refuse to acknowledge what words mean...but evidence does not have to be a proverbial smoking gun. I taught Federal Rules of Civil Procedure at a law school as a teaching assistant. I taught Criminal Law in law school as a teaching assistant. I am a practicing attorney.
For civil cases (this means not criminal), you start a case by filing a petition. A petition is sufficient when there are adequate facts alleged. In most law suits, you do not even need sworn testimony or any other type of documentary evidence. You just need to state a series of facts that, if assumed true, would violate some civil law. For example, “I entered into a contract with Mr. Smith on January 1, 2020. Mr. Smith failed to abide by the terms of the contract. Specifically, Mr. Smith failed to pay $20,000 a per section 3 of the contract.” If there are adequate facts alleged - the lawsuit goes ahead.
Normally, you don’t have all the evidence ahead of time (like internal emails, text messages, etc) which is why after the lawsuit passes the petition threshold, you are allowed to conduct discovery. Discovery is when the other side has to answer questions and produce certain documents. This is especially helpful for cases like....you guessed it. Election fraud.
Right now, we have sworn affidavits - more than what is required- in most states of individuals who witnessed voter fraud. This is preliminary evidence. This is sufficient to file a petition and to receive discovery. Our preliminary forensic data analysis is also evidence.
Yes, we do not currently have ALL the evidence but we have enough to go forward.
To decide if someone won a civil case, the plaintiff will have to meet the evidentiary burden of a “preponderance of the evidence.” This simply means it is more likely than not that the thing alleged did happen. So...say it’s 51% likely it happened.
For criminal cases, the government actor needs probable cause that something happened in order to bring a case against you.
Reasonable suspicion to pull you over in your car. Probable cause to search your car. Probable cause to bring a case against you. Evidence beyond reasonable doubt to convict you.
There is often a problem with juries, and most attorneys address this issue in voir dire (the process of picking a jury) that people expect a trial to be like a tv show - you know 100% that someone did or didn’t do something. Attorneys often ask - how important is CSI-type evidence to you? Will you absolutely need DNA to convict? Sometimes you just have eyewitness testimony, evidence of motive and opportunity, and possession of incriminating evidence.
People who say there is “no evidence” right now fundamentally misunderstand what evidence is and the process of proving up a case. You usually don’t start a case with 100% solid irrefutable evidence. You get there because something bad or something suspicious happened, you start finding pieces of evidence, and then you build your wall of proof.
And side note- the forensic research pedes have done here, the voter registration comparisons, the eyewitness testimony from anyone who knows they voted but their vote didn’t count or knows they didn’t vote by absentee ballot but it shows one was revived - all of this is evidence. Is it the sum total of our evidence? No. More is out there. But gathering evidence is a process and we’re just getting started.
the most absurd thing I just heard is we will have to wear masks AND face shields and can pull down our mask when talking to the jury or witness but will still have the face shield on.
In some places, we won't be able to see the jury because they'll be in separate rooms watching from a video screen.
A judge just bragged about how a man refused to have his temperature taken at the courthouse door and the judge said, fine, you have two options. You can have your temperature taken or you can go home but I'm going to revoke your bond and put you in jail.
Keep in mind that federal courts are making exceptions to the speedy trial laws. There are people rotting in jail who are entitled to trial but are being pushed back because of muh covid. Meanwhile, small-time criminals are pleading out super quickly with minimal jail time because the jails are "full" but not really full but full because of COVID.
Now we've moved on to our requirements for Open Courts and Public Trials and also what we do with the Confrontation Clause and being able to confront witnesses against you in person.
OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS ARE BEING VIOLATED AND THE VERY PLACE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO LITIGATE THESE ISSUES IS THE PLACE DOING THE VIOLATING. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.
I'm about to have to stop my camera on this meeting because I'm sure my face is getting red.
Without the massive voter turnout we’ve had to combat fraud and keep these races tight, the Trump team would have a much harder time challenging fraud in all these key states.
