Circumstantial Evidence is Equally Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE IS EQUALLY

PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

By Thomas Coffin

During my career as a federal prosecutor, I tried hundreds of felony cases to juries involving some of the most serious offenses under our criminal justice system. The requirement of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is a formidable one that must be satisfied to a unanimous group of 12 citizens selected by lot to perform their duty to return a true verdict. 

The requisite standard can be satisfied by eyewitness testimony where the credibility or accuracy of the witness or witnesses may be the pivotal issue, or by circumstantial evidence, where the reliability of logic and science may be the crucial question (fingerprints, DNA, a chain of circumstances that add up to a rational explanatory conclusion that supports who and why is the perpetrator of the action being analyzed.)

Both types of evidence can satisfy the burden of proof, either separately or in combination.

I cite this analogy because it fits squarely with the task of all of us in the approaching existential election this November, where the fate of Democracy itself is at stake, not only in our United States, but throughout the entirety of the free world that survived WWII.

Let me elaborate. The accumulation of evidence that has emerged so far in this election year includes in part troubling connections between Vladimir Putin, the dictator of Russia, and the would-be leader of the United States, Donald Trump. The “offense” being judged by the American people is whether candidate Trump has unsavory ties to Putin, or vice versa—that Putin has a controlling interest in Trump ascending to the office as President of our country. A related and similar concern is whether Trump aspires to use the power of the presidency to assume even greater powers than the Constitution grants, i.e., the ultimate power of dictatorship over our nation.

Here are just some of the mounting pieces of alarming evidence that have already been accumulated:

1)    Trump’s financial interests being enhanced by Russian oligarchs with close ties to Putin, both prior to and during the 2016 election.

2)    Trump allegedly revealing highly classified information in 2017 to the Russian foreign ambassador. 

3)    Trump’s 2017 firing of FBI Director James Comey in the midst of an FBI investigation into the connections between the Trump campaign and Moscow. 

4)    Trump’s 2018 meeting with Putin in Helsinki during a global conference in which Trump refused the services of our government’s translator and talked secretly with Putin using only the services of the Russian translator.

5)    But most sinister of all, Trump’s actions to weaken NATO, our own national security, and indeed all nations that embrace freedom and basic human rights. By fracturing that crucial global alliance that has been mostly successful in preventing aggression by Russia in its intention to re-establish its dominance by extending its borders to those established when it was the Soviet Union under Stalin’s yoke, Trump has clearly embraced the vision of Vladimir Putin.  

This is now the plight of the Ukraine, as it valiantly defends against Putin’s aggression, alone and desperate for resources to save itself and ultimately the rest of the free world.

Yet Trump and his party oppose aiding the Ukraine and its people in its fight for freedom. But even more alarming to world peace and our nation’s security interests, Trump not only attempts to abandon NATO but kneels before Putin by, incredibly, joining Putin in condemning American democracy. When have we ever had a candidate for the highest position in our democratic system condemn our very heritage as a democracy and quote tyrants as his inspiration?  When have we ever had a candidate who promises that a foreign totalitarian regime can do whatever it wants to conquer our global allies­­— as he cheers the aggressor on with his whole hearted approval? (See CNN’s article Trump says he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to any NATO country that doesn’t pay enough.)

We, the people, are still in charge of our destiny and must connect the dots in making our decision some eight months from now. The clues are all over the wounded body that is our country today, and our democracy is at grave risk.  The dangers grow with every blow that is being struck against our Constitution and freedoms, as well as every weakening of the collective strength we enjoy with our allies. The hold that a foreign despot has on a potential occupant of the White House is supported by a combination of cumulative evidence that we ignore at a terrible, calamitous cost—the chains of totalitarian rule.

This is no typical election. It is the most momentous one in our lifetime, and it may well be the last one for us and our posterity if we fail in our duty to reject tyranny and vote overwhelmingly to choose democracy and our Constitution.

For a more detailed and excellent viewpoint, I recommend the always reliable source of heathercoxrichardson@substack.com.  Her column dated 2/12/24 features a thorough history of NATO and its importance to the cause of global peace and deterrent to aggression from the likes of Putin et.al. 

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Thomas Coffin was the keynote speaker at the Blackberry Pie Society’s Political Party in February, 2020 and at Politics and Pie in October, 2022.  He is a retired federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and a former professor at the UO Law School. Thomas retired in 2016 after 24 years on the bench, prior to which he had a career as a federal prosecutor spanning 21 years. He is married with 7 children.  The Blackberry Pie Society is pleased to include a collection of his essays on our website.  We will post them as they become available.

Posted 2.19.2024