Defending People

the tao of criminal-defense trial lawyering

The Lesson of Todd Akin

The les­son (for criminal-defense lawyers) of Mis­souri Repub­li­can Todd Akin’s sur­pris­ing asser­tion that “If it’s a legit­i­mate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down” is that there are peo­ple who earnestly believe such non­sense, which may be turned to our clients’ advantage.

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About The Author

Mark Bennett got his letter of marque from the Supreme Court of Texas in May 1995. He is famous for having no sense of humor when it comes to totalitarianism.

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3 Responses to “The Lesson of Todd Akin”

  1. Mike Trent says:

    Per­haps an even more salient les­son might be to think before you speak, since one ill-advised, insen­si­tive com­ment can turn a whole bunch of vot­ers (and jurors) against you.

    • Mark Bennett says:

      We often don’t have time to pon­der the effects of our words before we talk. So how about, “if you’re prone to mak­ing ill-advised, insen­si­tive com­ments when you don’t think before you speak, you’re in the wrong job”?

  2. Ric Moore says:

    Some­one really needs to run Akin through a sex-offender rehab course. He might become closer attuned to the rights of the vic­tims. I think he re-victimized any woman who became preg­nant through rape or incest …as the blame is being put on the victim’s own body’s fail­ure to ter­mi­nate the pregnancy.

    By his state­ment, they are at bio­log­i­cal fault and must have really wanted to carry the baby. I think any­one seek­ing a Judge­ship could denounce that notion, with­out incur­ring the wrath of the gen­eral thinking/voting pub­lic. Those who do dis­agree can pound sand. :) Ric

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