In the first trial, the case of Elise Roberts vs. Kevin Murphy, Elise Roberts accused Kevin Murphy of sexually harassing her and causing her to poorly perform at her job as a lawyer. In my opinion, after hearing the facts of the case and hearing each side’s arguments, it was clear that Kevin Murphy was guilty of sexually harassing Elise Roberts. In the office, Kevin Murphy would often make rude and diminishing comments to Elise Roberts regarding her sexuality and her looks. While Murphy claimed that he simply joked around with Elise Roberts, this was not the case as she complained to her supervisors multiple times and nothing was done to reprimand Kevin Murphy and stop the harassment. To me, the most compelling piece of testimony was that after being told that Elise Roberts was uncomfortable with his comments, Kevin Murphy continued to make them and continued to make her feel uncomfortable. This perfectly fits the definition of sexual harassment because Murphy was making unwelcomed, sexual comments, despite the fact that he knew that Elise Roberts was uncomfortable with the comments he made. Knowing that he was aware that what he was doing was wrong and that Elise was uncomfortable with it, he still continued his actions, showing his lack of a soul and his rage. These characteristics make me think that he is not an innocent bystander being blamed for something he did not do. It is because of this information that it was easy for me to determine my views on the case and to decide that I strongly felt that Kevin Murphy was guilty of sexually harassing Elise Roberts. In order for me to have thought that he was not guilty, some of the facts in the case would have needed to be different. First off, Kevin Murphy would have had to been actually reprimanded and actions needed to have been taken against him in an attempt to remedy the situation. In addition, after being informed that he was bothering Elise Roberts and that she didn’t like the comments that he made, he needed to have stopped and not made any more comments. This evidence, as well as the testimony from his friends that he could cross the line at times, made me realize that this was definitely not a one-time incidence and it has become to the point where Kevin Murphy needs to face consequences for his actions so that he can realize that this is a serious situation and not a joking matter.
In the case of the United States vs. David Jones, I was very happy with the outcome and the verdict of not guilty. Susan Williams, a senior in college, accused her ex-boyfriend of raping her, but it became clear to me that this was not the case and that it seemed as if Susan was jealous of David and regretted her actions, therefore wanting to put the blame on someone else so she didn’t feel guilty of having sex with him anymore. While there were definitely some facts and testimonies that mitigated David Jones’ case, ultimately, I feel as if he is innocent and was happy that he was not charged with rape. Susan Williams’ main argument was that when David Jones began to take her clothes off and attempt to have sex with her, she said, “no,” indicating her lack of desire to continue and have sex. While she may have actually said the word, “no,” it was my opinion that, from the testimonies, she did not actually want Jones to stop. Right after telling Jones to stop and that she didn’t want to go further, Williams continued to seduce Jones by kissing him. Had she firmly not wanted to move any further and have the evening turn into a sexual relationship, she should have displayed this in a better way by firmly displaying her desire to stop or even getting up. By staying in bed with Jones and continuing to kiss and seduce him, Jones had no clear message that she did not want him to continue. After they had sex, Susan did not cry, she did not yell, she did not say a word. Had she thought that she was raped by Jones, she would have specifically said something to him before, during, or after the intercourse took place, but she did none of these. After having sex with Jones, she sat at his desk, say a note written to him by another girl, and then stormed out of his apartment. If she had actually been upset and thought that she was raped, she would have said something right then and there to display her discomfort and her thoughts that he had raped her. In my opinion, the most compelling fact arose during the re-cross examination that one of our lawyers did against Randy Miller, a rape counselor at the health clinic at the university that Susan and David attended. During the meetings that Mr. Miller had with Susan Williams, he told him how she regretted her decision to have sex with David and how she thought it was a bad idea. Not once did she mention the word “rape” to him because it had never crossed her mind that she was raped. It was not until Miller suggested to Williams that she may have been raped and encouraged her to press charges. This was extremely compelling information that Jones was not guilty because Susan Williams hadn’t even thought that he had raped her until after speaking to the rape counselor who encouraged that she may have been raped. In order to have thought that David Jones was guilty, it would have needed to be much more obvious that Susan Williams was opposed to the sex. Rather than simply saying the word “no” and then continuing to seduce Jones, she would have needed to get angry and possibly get off of the bed to display her discomfort and desire to leave. This didn’t actually happen, and it is because of this that I felt that David Jones should be found not guilty of raping Susan Williams.
I think that it is definitely important that people, especially high school students, are aware of both of these problems, sexual harassment and rape. Unfortunately, I think that it is way too possible that a situation like one of the ones in these cases were to arise, especially at a place like DHS. While there may not actually be a significant problem of people reporting rapes and sexual harassment to the police, I definitely think that there are probably many situations in which this could be possible and people could get in serious trouble for the things that they say or do to other people. I think that there are definitely many situations in which a relationship between a girl and guy can escalate to a point where it is questionable if sexual harassment has taken place. Thankfully, I think that sexual harassment is a much more possible situation at DHS and not rape. Many people cross the line as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable by making rude jokes and comments to people of the other sex, similar at the situation between Elise Roberts and Kevin Murphy. Many people believe that when they say things like this that it is just a joke and should be taken as such, but these comments can actually be hurtful to the person in which they are being directed to. I think that the DHS culture adds to these problems because it is a common mentality that there isn’t a problem and that people overreact. I think that the common culture at DHS is that people should be able to take jokes and that nobody would actually intentionally sexually harass someone else, but the reality is that whether it is intended or not, sexual harassment occurs. In order to help remedy this situation, I think it is important to educate the students about these issues and what the difference is between telling a joke and sexual harassment, or between seductively saying no to someone, or actually meaning no and being raped. This is something that should be taught to all students, because after these two trials, I definitely learned a lot and started to question some of my past actions and wondered if there were times that I, for instance, took a joke too far to a point where someone felt uncomfortable. By educating and informing people, they will be aware of the impact of their actions and will therefore change them if it is at a point where sexual harassment or rape is being questioned.
No comments:
Post a Comment