What (Wis Supreme Court Justice) Gableman says he saw doesn't measure up

[Scuba]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/129168698.html


Interesting opinion piece by Chuck Baynton who is a peace activist/physician.


..snip..


That's why it is worth repeating a gem of inaccurate eyewitness testimony which appeared in this newspaper recently. In fact, the eyewitness in this instance was a lawyer, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. The occasion was the investigation of a physical altercation between his fellow justices Ann Walsh Bradley and David Prosser.

To quote the article by Jason Stein and Bruce Vielmetti, "Justice Michael Gableman told detectives in a July 5 interview that Bradley 'rushed' to Prosser and punched the air around his face. He described Bradley as being a little bit taller than Prosser and compared Bradley's stance with Prosser to a famous photo of then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson leaning over a shorter, cowed senator.

"According to the records, Prosser is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds. Bradley is 5 feet, 3 inches and weighs 131 pounds."

Just one instance, yet it's enough to show that even when the witness holds a respected position and needs to be careful of his reputation, his eyewitness testimony can be way off the mark.

What about the idea that when people see things mistakenly, they do so in a way that is colored by their world view, and casts their own allies in a better light? Maybe. This case fits that idea; Gableman and Prosser are in the conservative court majority, while Bradley is in the liberal minority. But this case by itself isn't nearly enough to show that there is such a pattern.


..end..


Gableman is the right-wing justice who's campaign centered around lies about his opponent. While witnesses will see things differently, I think it's more than coincidence that recollections of the event fall along partisan lines.

[mn9driver]

1. He lied to get into office; no surprise he would lie now. nt

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[HelenWheels]

2. Another Gableman lie

He recently said Ann Bradley hit him on the back of the head when other justices were present. However, on the date he gave the court was not it session and no one saw such an act take place.