Suchergebnisse

[Law is jurisprudence: "there is no certainty of tomorrow". Comment to: judgment of the Court of Milan, July 17th 2014]Today, more and more evidence is perfected a peculiar creation process of law: law is jurisprudence!The judgment of the Court of Milan, here under review, sets out a direction completely contrasting with the well-established theory of liability of "social contact" in the health sector.The point at issue? The same for some time, now: the Decree Balduzzi revived the responsibility model in force before the landmark ruling in 1999, or only represented a failure of the Legislator?The jurisprudential debate arises from the interpretation of Article 3 of Law 189 of November 8, 2012, the conversion of D.L. September 13, 2012 n. 158, the notorius "Decree Balduzzi".The Court of Milan promotes the interpretation that the second part of Article 3 of Law n. 189/2012, would change the "living law", making a choice in line with the purpose of containing the costs of compensation of public health and to remedy the phenomenon of so-called "defensive medicine", "throwing to the nettles" the usability in practice of the theory of social contact.The position taken by the Court of Milan cannot be shared: the reference to art. 2043 of the Civil Code must be interpreted as a failure of the Legislator, too worried about reducing health care costs. We must therefore continue to apply the model of liability of art. 1218 of the Civil Code, and then the theory of social contact. Anyway: posterity will judge!

Human rights — Freedom of expression — Refusal by State authorities to grant licence to receive television broadcasts by dish aerial from foreign telecommunications satellite without consent of the broadcasting State — Scope of freedom — Whether commercial parties and interests entitled to protection — Whether refusal prescribed by law — Whether refusal necessary in a democratic society — Relevance of technical and legal developments subsequent to facts of case — Consideration of international telecommunications law — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950, Article 10

The article is devoted to the analysis of views of an outstanding domestic statesman, scientist-jurist, writer andpublicist Konstantin Petrovicha Pobedonostseva (1827-1907) regarding the problem of search for the constant bases of state and law. Today when the modern Russian society needs consolidation, the search for the unchanging foundations is especially relevant. K.P. Pobedonostsev considered Orthodoxy to be the spiritual basis of state and legal development of Russia. Now the Russian Orthodox Church is still the keeper of traditional cultural values of Russia. The appeal to the spiritual understanding of the essence of state and law found its reflection in K.P. Pobedonostsev's creative heritage, which is especially important now. This is the sociohistorical role of the Russian Orthodox Church. The future of our country in many respects is and will be defined by the role and place of the Church in our lives, the Orthodoxy being the religion of the majority and the support of the Russian statehood. Therefore the status of the Russian Orthodox Church should not only be considered in political and cultural life of the country, but also be reflected in federal laws. ; The article is devoted to the analysis of views of an outstanding domestic statesman, scientist-jurist, writer andpublicist Konstantin Petrovicha Pobedonostseva (1827-1907) regarding the problem of search for the constant bases of state and law. Today when the modern Russian society needs consolidation, the search for the unchanging foundations is especially relevant. K.P. Pobedonostsev considered Orthodoxy to be the spiritual basis of state and legal development of Russia. Now the Russian Orthodox Church is still the keeper of traditional cultural values of Russia. The appeal to the spiritual understanding of the essence of state and law found its reflection in K.P. Pobedonostsev's creative heritage, which is especially important now. This is the sociohistorical role of the Russian Orthodox Church. The future of our country in many respects is and will be defined by the role and place of the Church in our lives, the Orthodoxy being the religion of the majority and the support of the Russian statehood. Therefore the status of the Russian Orthodox Church should not only be considered in political and cultural life of the country, but also be reflected in federal laws.

This Article offers two main contributions to the study of sex stereotyping. First, it identifies an organizing principle that explains why some forms of sex stereotyping are today legally prohibited while others are not. Second, it argues for a shift in the current rights framework—from equal opportunity to individual liberty—that could assist courts and other legal actors to appreciate the harms of currently permissible forms of sex stereotyping. Commentators and courts have long observed that the law of sex stereotyping has many inconsistencies. For instance, it is lawful today for the state to require that unwed biological fathers, but not mothers, establish a relationship with a child as a condition for parental rights, but it is unlawful to exclude fathers from the category of "primary caregiver" for medical leave purposes. It is lawful to deny a female guard a position at an all-male prison but unlawful to refuse to hire a woman as a researcher for a physics clinic. It is lawful to post a "men only" sign on a bathroom door but unlawful to post the same sign on a courthouse door. This Article offers an organizing principle that explains these seeming inconsistencies. The main thesis is that there are today two primary branches of sex-stereotyping law: one that prohibits stereotyping and one that permits it. The prohibiting branch reflects an event in antidiscrimination law that began in the 1960s and involved integrating the private sphere of the family with the public spheres of the market and political life. This event involved three steps: (1) a new rationale regarding the harm of sex stereotyping—anti-subordination; (2) a new concept of gender—gender role; and (3) a new articulation of an equality principle—equal opportunity for women to participate in the market and for men to participate in domestic activities. These shifts produced statutes and decisions that rejected traditional division-of-labor stereotyping. In the same years, however, a parallel branch of permissible sex stereotyping flourished. This branch includes mandatory appearance codes in the workplace, schools, and prisons; denial of parental rights of unwed fathers; and sex segregation in bathrooms, locker rooms, prisons, and the military. This Article argues for a shift of focus in the law of sex stereotyping. It underscores the limits of an equal opportunity framework and argues that an individual liberty framework better captures the harms of many individuals who are today subjected to currently lawful forms of body stereotyping.

What roles have lawyers played in the conservative counterrevolution in US law and public policy? Two recent books, Jefferson Decker's The Other Rights Revolution: Conservative Lawyers and the Remaking of American Government (2016), and Amanda Hollis-Brusky's Ideas with Consequences: The Federalist Society and the Conservative Counterrevolution (2015), speak to the question. This essay explores how these books relate to a larger story of the conservative legal movement and the roles that lawyers and their organizations and networks have played in the conservative turn in American law and politics. It highlights four interrelated threads of the movement's development: creating a support structure for conservative legal advocacy; remaking the judiciary and holding judges accountable; generating, legitimizing, and disseminating ideas to support legal change; and embracing legal activism to roll back government. The essay then considers a continuing challenge for the movement: managing tensions among its several constituencies. Finally, it suggests how this story has played out in litigation to challenge campaign finance regulation.

ABSTRAK Bahwa untuk penetapan tersangka sendiri harus berdasarkan bukti permulaan yang cukup seperti yang diatur dalam pasal 1 ayat 14 KUHAP dan pasal 17 KUHAP, namun didalam pasal-pasal tersebut baik didalam penjelasan pasalnya tidak disinggung atau tidak diuraikan secara lengkap apa-apa saja yang dimaksud ‗bukti permulaan yang cukup', kemudian dalam rangka penetapan tersangka masuk kedalam objek praperadilan yang dalam pelaksanaannya sekarang terjadi inskonsistensi dari pengadilan menerima atau memutuskan gugatan praperadilan tersebut bukan hanya berdasarkan ‗bukti permulaan yang cukup' tetapi meluas tanpa batasan, seperti sampai ke legalitas penegak hukum yang melakukan penyidikan tersebut dipertanyakan, seperti permohonan praperadilan yang dilakukan oleh Hadi Purnomo, kemudian juga terjadi dalam permohonan praperadilan La Nyalla Mattalitti dan masih banyak permasalahan yang terjadi akibat perubahan dari objek praperadilan itu sendiri yang diajukan oleh beberapa tersangka lainnya yang akan dibahas oleh penulis pada bab-bab selanjutnya, dan yang menarik dari kesemuanya contoh permohonan praperadilan yang akan dibahas, kesemuanya terkait dengan perkara korupsi yang dilakukan oleh pejabat negara dan dengan ditetapkannya para pemohon tersebut sebagai tersangka mempunyai dampak/kepentingan lain selain dampak/kepentingan penegakan hukum, seperti dampak/kepentingan politis dan kepentingan lain yang menarik perhatian masyarakat Indonesia. Permasalahan penelitian ini adalah (1) Bagaimana pelaksanaan praperadilan di Indonesia setelah penetapan tersangka masuk kedalam objek permohonan praperadilan ? (2) Bagaimana perbandingan atau pelaksanaan permohonan praperadilan di negara-negara lain ? Tipe penelitian yang dipakai dalam penulisan tesis ini adalah penelitian hukum normatif atau penelitian yuridis normatif dan penelitian yuridis empiris1.penelitian yuridis normatif adalah penelitian yang mengacu 1Zainuddin Ali, Sosiologi Hukum, cet. 2. Jakarta, sinar Grafika. 2007. Hal 13 2 kepada norma hukum praperadilan yang terdapa dalam Undang-Undang No. 8 tahun 1981 tentang KUHAP dan putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi yang menguji pasal tentang praperadilan. Dalam perkembangannya dan kenyataan yang terjadi di Indonesia untuk proses pelaksanaan praperadilan, dengan ditambahnya objek praperadilan seperti penetapan tersangka, penggeledahan dan penyitaan, kemudian dikaitkan lagi dengan perbandingan praperadilan di Indonesia dengan negara-negara tersebut diatas yang berangkat dari satu sumber/konsep lembaga praperadilan yaitu habeas corpus, sehingga dengan dimasukkannya objek baru dalam praperadilan tersebut karena KUHAP yang lama tidak lagi sesuai dan mengakomodir untuk melindungi hak – hak masyarakat dan konsep kenapa diadakan lembaga praperadilan tersebut. Dengan kata lain, praperadilan sebenarnya merupakan forum perbaikan terhadap proses penyidikan yang dilakukan aparat penegak hukum untuk dapat menghormati hak asasi manusia dan putusan praperadilan bukan akhir perjuangan penyidik untuk membuktikan terjadinya suatu peristiwa pidana. Inti dari praperadilan adalah melindungi hak asasi manusia terhadap siapa saja yang berhadapan dengan hukum pidana indonesia, karena dalam hukum pidana terdapat upaya paksa dalam pelaksanaannya yang dikenal sebagai ultimum remedium. Hal tersebut sesuai dengan asas atau prinsip yang dianut oleh KUHAP sendiri yang berusaha melindungi hak asasi manusia lebih dari HIR sehingga setiap perbuatan / tindakan hukum yang dilaksanakan oleh penegak hukum dalam melaksanakan / menegakkan hukum pidana yang mempunyai upaya paksa bisa dilakukan usaha / tindakan praperadilan jika dirasa tidak sesuai aturan terlepas dari upaya paksa yang sudah diatur dan bisa dilakukan upaya praperadilan. Kata kunci:Praperadilan, penetapan tersangka, keadilan 3 ABSTRACT Whereas for the determination of the suspects themselves shall be based on sufficient preliminary evidence as provided for in article 1 paragraph 14 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Article 17 of the Criminal Procedure Code, but in those articles either in the explanation of the article is not mentioned or not described in full what is meant by 'evidence A sufficient beginning ', then in the framework of the determination of the suspect entered into the pretrial object which in the present implementation occurs the inconsistency of the court accepting or declaring the pre-trial suit not only on the basis of' sufficient preliminary evidence 'but widespread without limitation, such as to the legality of law enforcement Such investigations are questioned, such as pre-trial pleas done by Hadi Purnomo, then also occurred in the preliminary appeals of La Nyalla Mattalitti and there are still many problems that arise as a result of a change from the pre-trial object itself filed by some other suspects Ng will be discussed by the author in subsequent chapters, and interesting from all examples of pretrial requests to be discussed, all of which are related to cases of corruption committed by state officials and with the stipulation of the applicants as suspects having other interests other than impacts Law enforcement, such as political impacts and other interests that interest the people of Indonesia. The problems of this study are (1) How is the implementation of pretrial in Indonesia after the determination of the suspect entered into the object of pre-trial request? (2) How is the comparison or implementation of pre-trial applications in other countries? The type of research used in the writing of this thesis is normative legal research or normative juridical research and empirical juridical research. Normative juridical research is a study that refers to the legal norms of pretrial justice in Law no. 8 of 1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code and the decision of the Constitutional Court which examines the articles on pre-trial. 4 In its development and the facts that occurred in Indonesia for the process of pretrial execution, with the addition of pretrial objects such as the determination of suspects, searches and seizures, and then linked again with the pretrial comparison in Indonesia with the countries mentioned above that depart from one source / concept of pretrial institutions namely habeas Corpus, so that with the inclusion of new objects in the pretrial because the old Criminal Procedure Code is no longer appropriate and accommodate to protect the rights of the community and the concept of why such pretrial institutions are held. In other words, pre-trial is actually a forum for improvement of the investigation process by law enforcement officials to be able to respect human rights and pretrial decisions not the end of the investigator's struggle to prove the occurrence of a criminal incident. The essence of pretrial justice is protecting human rights against anyone who is dealing with Indonesian criminal law, because in criminal law there is a forced effort in its implementation known as ultimum remedium. This is in accordance with the principle or principle adopted by the KUHAP itself which seeks to protect human rights more than the HIR so that any legal actions carried out by law enforcers in implementing / enforcing the criminal law that has a forced effort can be done business / pretrial action if deemed Not in accordance with the rules regardless of the prescribed forced measures and pre-trial efforts. Keywords: Pre - trial, determination of the suspect , justice

Die Untersuchung widmet sich der Konzeptkunst, die in den 1960er Jahren in den USA entstand. Künstler forderten, dass die Idee wichtiger sei als jede materielle Realisierung, die gar nicht und auch nicht vom Künstler selbst erfolgen müsse. Alle Optionen wären gleichwertig. Sie wollten reine Ideenkunst. Kein Rechtssystem gewährt abstrakten Ideen urheberrechtlichen Schutz. Daher ist es der Anspruch dieser Arbeit, einen Beitrag zu Überlegungen der urheberrechtlichen Schutzfähigkeit von Konzeptkunst zu leisten.Einführend werden kunsthistorische Präzedenzfälle zum Verständnis der historischenEntwicklung vorgestellt. Konzeptkunst erodiert Autorschaft und Werkbegriff. Daher liegt der Fokus auf Urheber und Werk. Beide werden rechtsvergleichend hinsichtlich ihrer Normierung definiert und für das Schöpferprinzip (die gewandelte Autorschaft) und den Werkbegriff (Idee=Werk) reflektiert. Unter Berücksichtigung relevanter Rechtsprechung und juristischer Fachliteratur werden die Rechtsgrundlagen nationaler, europäisch-gemeinschaftsrechtlicher, völkerrechtlicher und anglo-amerikanischer Urheberrechte beleuchtet. Anhand von etlichen Beispielen wird dargelegt, dass sich das kontinental-europäische Urheberrecht gegenüber dem anglo-amerikanischen copyright für die urheberrechtliche Schutzfähigkeit von Konzeptkunst grundsätzlich elastischer erweist. Ideen, die zu allgemein gefasst sind und keine sinnlich wahrnehmbare Form erhalten, bleiben generell ungeschützt. Die Erörterung einiger Rechtstheorien zur urheberrechtlichen Schutzwürdigkeit jüngerer Kunstphänomene zeigt, dass die wissenschaftliche Diskussion für Ideenkunst zu kurz greift, weil sie am Werkbegriff scheitert. Ergänzend werden pragmatische Überlegungen für Werke der Konzeptkunst zu den Verwertungsrechten, dem Folgerecht und dem Werkschutz hinsichtlich unterschiedlicher Interessen mit ihren rechtlichen Konsequenzen angestellt. Fragen zur Schutzfähigkeit kuratorischer Konzepte und Sammlungen runden die Studie ab. ; The study deals with the investigation of concept art, which emerged in the 1960s in the USA. Artists claimed, an idea is more important than every material realization which may be fabricated or built, but even does not need to be done by the artist himself. All options were equal. They wanted pure concept art. No legal system grants copyright protection for abstract ideas. Therefore this study aims to contribute to the reflections on copyright protection for concept art.First some art historical precedents are introduced to establish understanding of the art historical development. Concept art erodes authorship and the definition of a work. Therefore the focus is set on author and work. Both are defined through a comparative examination of legal systems with regard to their statutory definitions and reflected for the creation principle (changed authorship) and the work concept (idea=work). By taking into account relevant case law and legal publications, the legal bases of copyright protection are examined under applicable National law, European Community law, International law and Anglo-American copyright law. On the basis of numerous examples is demonstrated how the Continental-European system proves in principle to be more elastic compared to the Anglo-American copyright law for objective copyright protection for concept art. Ideas, which are too general and receive no perceivable form, remain generally unprotected. The discussion of some legal theories reflecting copyright protection of younger art phenomena revealed the academic discussion goes too short and fails, however, due to the work concept. Additional pragmatic considerations are made for works of concept art concerning the exploitation right, resale right and protection right for works with regard to different interests and their legal consequences. Questions related to a protectability of curatorial concepts and collections complete the study. ; von Mag.a Dr.in Doris Leutgeb ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des Verfassers/der Verfasserin ; Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Masterarbeit, 2016 ; (VLID)1337642

"In this unique book, leading legal scholars and philosophers provide a breadth of perspectives and inspire stimulating debate around the transformations of jurisprudence in a globalized world. Traditionally the central debates surrounding jurisprudence and legal theory are concerned with the elucidation of the particularities of state-law. This innovative book considers that this orthodox picture may no longer be tenable, given the increasing standardization of technologies, systems and information worldwide. Split across four thematic parts, this timely book provides a broad overview of the topic, followed by in depth analyses investigating the modifications to jurisprudence's methodological approaches driven by globalization, the concepts and theoretical tools required to account for putative new forms of legal phenomena, and normative issues relating to the legitimacy and democratic character of these legal orders. Chapters cover legal encounters with alterity in a post-monist mode, normative legal pluralism, relating law and power in a historical global context, cosmopolitan legitimacy and human rights and dignity in a corporate world. Jurisprudence in a Globalized World will be a key resource for students and scholars working in global transnational law, public international law and legal theory and philosophy"--

Als "syphilis of the law" (Bentham) und "Krücken" (Jhering) verdammt, wird seit über 2000 Jahren immer wieder die Ausrottung von Rechtsfiktionen gefordert. Genauso leidenschaftlich werden sie aber auch als höchst wertvoll verteidigt und sogar zur Grundlage des Rechts (Kelsen) erklärt. Wie passt das zusammen? Kristin Albrecht zeigt auf Grundlage einer historischen und rechtsvergleichenden Analyse, dass man im Recht nicht "der Rechtsfiktion" begegnet, sondern drei unterschiedlichen Typen: Den fiktiven Annahmen, den fiktiven Personen und den fiktiven Rechtsinstituten. Sie entwickelt diese Typen mit philosophischer Gründlichkeit und diskutiert anschließend, was "so troubling" bzw. "beneficial and useful" (Blackstone) an ihnen ist.

В статье на основе анализа понятия, сущности и содержания административно-правового режима пребывания (проживания) иностранных граждан и лиц без гражданства в Российской Федерации и его основных элементов делается вывод о необходимости разработки и принятия федерального закона о миграционной политике Российской Федерации. ; The article draws a conclusion about the necessity of the development and enactment of federal law of Russian Federation Migration Policy based on the analysis of content and essence of migration regulation of residence of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Russian Federation including its basic elements.

Введение: в статье рассматривается специфика правового регулирования юридической ответственности за правонарушения в сфере социального обеспечения. Цель: выявить основные особенности юридической ответственности за правонарушения в указанной сфере. Методы: при проведении исследования по заявленной теме были использованы диалектический метод, анализ, синтез, сравнение, абстрагирование и конкретизация, обобщение, аналогия и моделирование. Результаты: установлено, что в законодательстве сформулировано правило, в силу которого излишне выплаченные в результате недобросовестности граждан суммы пенсий, пособий и иных социально-обеспечительных выплат подлежат возмещению. Это обеспечивает единство в установлении санкций, относящихся к числу правовосстановительных, которые, тем не менее, отличаются друг от друга по порядку их реализации. Второй вид санкций в праве социального обеспечения правоограничительные можно дифференцировать на две группы. Первая включает в себя нормы, направленные на уменьшение размеров каких-либо выплат или продолжительности их предоставления. Вторая охватывает собой положения, закрепляющие основания для отказа в предоставлении того или иного вида социального обеспечения. Правоограничительные санкции зачастую устанавливаются за поведение, которое напрямую с социально-обеспе­чительными отношениями не связано и нарушает правовые предписания иной отраслевой принадлежности. Законодательством установлена ответственность за нарушение права граждан на социальное обеспечение. Примером этого являются меры административной и уголовной ответственности за невыплату (непредоставление) некоторых видов социального обеспечения. Особая защита предусмотрена не только для права на социальное обеспечение, но и для связанных с ним информационных прав. Выводы: правовая база в части ответственности за правонарушения в сфере социального обеспечения активно развивается, хотя для обеспечения необходимого единства в регулировании требуются совершенствование и унификация. ; Introduction: the article deals with the specifics of legal regulation of legal liability for offences in the field of social security. Purpose: to identify the main features of legal liability for offences in this area. Methods: such methods as dialectical, analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction and concretization, generalization, analogy and modeling were used in the course of research. Results: it is concluded that legislation contains a rule by virtue of which pensions, allowances and other social security payments overpaid as a result of citizens' bad faith must be refunded. This provides unity in imposition of sanctions referring to right-restoring ones, which, however, differ from each other in order of their implementation. The other type of sanctions in social security law is right-restrictive sanctions, which can be divided into two groups. The first one includes legal norms aimed at reduction of payments or duration of their granting. The second type covers provisions defining the grounds for refusal to provide a particular type of social security. Right-restrictive sanctions are often imposed for conduct which is not directly connected with social security relations and breaks legal regulations of other law branches. Legislation establishes liability for violation of the right of citizens to social security. Examples of this are measures of administrative and criminal liability for nonpayment (failure to provide) of certain types of social security. Special protection is provided not only for the right to social security, but also for the related information rights. Conclusions: liability for offences in the sphere of social security is being actively developed. However, it requires improvement and unification in order to ensure the necessary unity of the regulation.

Вступивший в силу в 2002 году Уголовно-процессуальный кодекс Российской Федерации (далее УПК РФ) в течение каждого года его действия подвергался изменению и реформированию неоднократно. Его и в настоящее время именуют «новый УПК». Законодатель в нем отмечает, что собирание доказательств не может осуществляться иначе, как посредством производства следственных и иных процессуальных действий. Согласно ст. 74 УПК РФ доказательствами по уголовному делу являются любые сведения, на основе которых, в частности, суд устанавливает обстоятельства, подлежащие доказыванию по уголовному делу, указанные в ст. 73 УПК РФ (предмет доказывания). А это и есть основа итогового решения суда о вине лица в совершении преступления. Перечень следственных действий в настоящее время насчитывает порядка двадцати мероприятий, каждое из которых требует отдельного анализа и подробного исследования. Практика их осуществления (Следственного комитета, ОВД, ФСБ) подтверждает необходимость изучения и особой тактики подготовки к подобным мероприятиям при обучении в процессе формирования и развития компетенций у обучаемых юристов при изучении «Уголовного процесса» и «Криминалистики». Указанное подтверждает необходимость изучения темы «Следственные действия» в процессе изучения дисциплины «Уголовный процесс» и «Криминалистика» с учетом специальных рекомендаций, что позволит сформировать и проверить профессиональные компетенции у обучающегося по ФГОС ВПО. В статье автор предлагает такие рекомендации, позволяющие сформировать у специалиста юриста требуемые действующим законодательством и правоприменительной практикой профессиональные умения, навыки и знания.The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation which came into force in 2002 within every year of its action was exposed to change and reforming repeatedly. It and now call «the new Code of Criminal Procedure». The legislator in him notes that collecting of proofs cannot be carried out differently as by means of production of investigative and other legal proceedings. According to Art. 74 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation proofs on criminal case are any data on the basis of which, in particular, the court establishes the circumstances which are subject to proof on criminal case, specified in Art. 73 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (a proof subject). And it is also a basis of the total judgment about wine of the person in crime execution. The list of investigative actions contains about twenty actions now, each of which demands the separate analysis and a detailed research. Practice of their implementation (Investigative committee, Department of Internal Affairs, FSB) confirms need of studying and special tactics of preparation for similar actions when training in the course of formation and development of competences in the trained lawyers when studying «Criminal procedure» and «Criminalistics». Specified confirms need of studying of the subject «Investigative Actions» in the course of studying of discipline «Criminal procedure» and «Criminalistics», taking into account special recommendations that will allow to create and check professional competences at the student on FGOS VPO. In article the author offers such recommendations allowing to create the professional abilities demanded by the current legislation and law-enforcement practice, skills and knowledge at the lawyer's expert.

In 1991, Anita Hill's testimony during Clarence Thomas's Senate confirmation hearing brought the problem of sexual harassment to a public audience. Although widely believed by women, Hill was defamed by conservatives and Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. The tainting of Hill and her testimony is part of a larger social history in which women find themselves caught up in a system that refuses to believe what they say. Hill's experience shows how a tainted witness is not who someone is, but what someone can become. Why are women so often considered unreliable witnesses to their own experiences? How are women discredited in legal courts and in courts of public opinion? Why is women's testimony so often mired in controversies fueled by histories of slavery and colonialism? How do new feminist witnesses enter testimonial networks and disrupt doubt? Tainted Witness examines how gender, race, and doubt stick to women witnesses as their testimony circulates in search of an adequate witness. Judgment falls unequally upon women who bear witness, as well-known conflicts about testimonial authority in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries reveal. Women's testimonial accounts demonstrate both the symbolic potency of women's bodies and speech in the public sphere and the relative lack of institutional security and control to which they can lay claim. Each testimonial act follows in the wake of a long and invidious association of race and gender with lying that can be found to this day within legal courts and everyday practices of judgment, defining these locations as willfully unknowing and hostile to complex accounts of harm. Bringing together feminist, literary, and legal frameworks, Leigh Gilmore provides provocative readings of what happens when women's testimony is discredited. She demonstrates how testimony crosses jurisdictions, publics, and the unsteady line between truth and fiction in search of justice.