Michigan Judge Misunderstands What “Facing Your Accuser” Means
The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment establishes that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”
In other words, if someone is accusing you of a crime, you have the right to face them during cross-examination at your criminal trial.
The right to face your accuser has a long and storied history aside from its inclusion in the United States’ Bill of Rights. It dates back to English common law, as well as being mentioned in the Bible. In many ways, the right to confront your accuser is the bedrock of criminal law.
While that’s all well and good, someone should’ve tapped 36th District Judge Vanessa Bradley on the shoulder and whispered to her that even with the right to confront your accuser, there is still a line to be drawn that should not be crossed.
That line was clearly crossed when a Detroit rape victim was forced to stay in a jail cell next to her alleged attacker for three days.
That nightmare only continued at a Wednesday hearing , when she claims defense attorney Gabi Silver kept badgering her on the stand insinuating that she brought this attack on herself, causing this victim to snap in court.
“I said just get to the point bitch, it slipped out, it was inappropriate… all the bottled anger” says the alleged victim.
Bradley held the victim in contempt of court and sentenced her to three days in a holding cell. During that time, the victim says her alleged attacker “threatened her life, claiming the suspect who is still on the loose will come back and kill her.”
Obviously it is not the judge’s decision as to which holding cell she was placed, but clearly, there was a disconnect as to how a sexual assault victim could be held for three days next to her alleged attacker.
An investigation into the matter is still pending, so we don’t have all the details as of this writing. But if true, this is a complete failure on the part of the justice system.
Even if the person accused of the crime was innocent, which they are until proven guilty, there should be some decorum when it comes to such a delicate situation. The jail should have known better, plain and simple. And the judge should have made sure that what happened didn’t. It’s her trial that she’s overseeing, and one would think she would want everything related to it to be on the up-and-up.
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