This is How the Public Tried the Kavanaugh Case

   The judge looked over at his clerk as they exited the courtroom and walked down the hall. "This has been a most-unusual trial," he said. "I have never had a case where the defense rested just moments into the trial. I have never seen this, and I have never heard of it. It is unprecedented -- I'm sure you agree."
   "Oh, your honor, you are so right!" the clerk exclaimed.
   "Mrs. Dunford," the judge went on, "We saw in there how the defense attorney felt all the evidence he needed was that Christine Blasey Ford was a Democrat, and her lawyer was a Democrat, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein was a Democrat.
   "I wonder on that. There is a parallel here with the way the public viewed this case. Basically, people -- a large share of them -- made up their minds before much was even known. If you were a Democrat, you believed Ford. And, if you were a Republican, you believed Kavanaugh.
   "Now what does your being a Democrat or Republican have to do with whether you believe someone was sexually assaulted? Whether you believe she was assaulted should have nothing to do with your own politics. Kavanaugh either did it or he didn't."
   "But, what if it was a political hit?" the clerk shot back. "What if the Democrats did, in fact, make it all up just to derail the nomination? If that is truthfully what happened . . ."
   "Well, perhaps that should have been investigated, as well," the judge offered. "But, that wasn't done. They shut down the investigation."
   The judge looked over at his clerk. "Mrs. Dunford, I am not against the details of cases coming out in the news. I read in our Constitution how we are to have public trials -- and, I do believe in that. The old adage, 'Don't try it in the press," doesn't dissuade me from liking the press to be open and aggressive in searching for the truth.
   "But, Mrs. Dunford," he paused before going on. "Sometimes the public isn't a very good jury. This is certainly an example of that. So many refused to believe Ford simply because they did not want to. They wanted Kavanaugh confirmed, so they did not want to believe Dr. Ford, for if her story was true, it could derail the nomination. We pretty much believe whatever we want in life, basing what we believe on what is best for us."
    They were getting out of the elevator now, and Mrs. Dunford was to head one way and the judge the other.
   "Yes, this was a very unusual case," the judge said. "Some sought to shut the whole thing down a little too quick. They didn't want a complete and honest investigation. Their minds were made up and further investigation had no value to them. All they needed to know was that Ford's allegation stood in the way of Kavanaugh's nomination. Nothing else mattered."