Mr. Dixon--
I have endeavored to conduct myself in this conversation with courtesy to
you and to others in the conversation. You write: "your "prosecutors" need
more than Gordon-Reed's book . . ." I would ask you once again to treat me
and others here with civility. The men to whom I referred most certainly
do exist, the conversation to which I reffered most certainly did happen, I
am not lying, and I resent your implication that I am doing so here. I
will not be responding to any further posts from you which impugn my
integrity.
That said, in as much as I have taken the time to write this much, I will
correct one further error in your most recent post. Regarding your
assertion below:
> And as I responded privately, "I know an expert, blah, blah.." is not an
> analysis or even an argument.
Of course it is. I am not an expert in contemporary legal practice, and
the men to whom I am referring are. Their expert judgement is thus a
perfectly reasonable warrant for the claim I have advanced. In rhetoric,
the technique is known as "appeal to authority," and it is perfectly
legitimate.
You may of course wish to dispute their expert judgement, as I report it
here. That too is reasonable, provided you address the arguement in
question. The claim that a good many contemporary legal cases are won on
the basis of circumstantial evidence weaker than that provided by
Gordon-Reed (and others) does not strike me as especially controversial.
Note that my claim here does not amount to the claim "Gordon-Reed's
argument is true," or even "Gordon-Reed's argument is legally sound." My
point is about practice--*in practice* it is good enough to win a case.
That is the judgement of the three legal professionals with whom I
conversed on the subject, and nothing you have said here addressed that.
You yourself likened Gordon-Reed's analysis to a "legal brief," and if so,
by the practical standards of legal briefs, you must surely recognize that
it is an effective one.
Kevin
--
Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of History, MSC 2001
James Madison University
Harrisonburg VA 22807
Phone: 540/568-6306
Email: [log in to unmask]
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