Crime

Well, That Was An Incredibly Stupid Thing For A Defense Attorney To Say: Harvey Weinstein Edition

Ben Brafman has some thoughts on the #MeToo movement and they are dumb.

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(YANN COATSALIOU/AFP/Getty Images)

Ben Brafman is a well-regarded criminal defense attorney with some truly high-profile success stories. He successfully got prosecutors to drop the rape charges against former IMF President Dominique Strauss-Kahn and, well, he didn’t really get Dinesh D’Souza out of the blatant criminal activity he engaged in, but Trump has pardoned him so we’ll count that as a win. Which is why it’s even more mind-boggling how gobsmackingly stupid he’s been while handling this Harvey Weinstein matter.

In a world of heightened awareness of sexual harassment — including the microaggressions that contribute subtly, even subconsciously, to hostile work environments across the country, Harvey Weinstein is accused of rape. So don’t try and give us the “#MeToo has gone too far” runaround. We had a consensus that rape was unacceptable long before #MeToo. Oh, God, that’s exactly where Brafman’s going to go, isn’t it?

Harvey Weinstein’s attorney on Thursday claimed the #MeToo movement is “so over the top…”

What’s the play here? Try and rile up the persecution complexes of a million and one catcalling New Yorker stereotypes and pray they land on the jury? Because that feels like a losing hand. At least try the “maybe he didn’t do it” angle before resorting to, “sure, but… since when is rape bad?”

Does Brafman continue to dig a hole for himself and his client? He does indeed:

…complaining his colleagues are now scared to tell “an attractive associate they’re wearing a nice outfit.”

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Let’s dissect this quote because, at first glance, people may not understand just how stupid it is. Have things gone too far if people are afraid to compliment a coworker’s outfit? Perhaps. But that’s not what he’s saying. He’s saying his colleagues — men who are partners — are now scared to tell “an attractive associate they’re wearing a nice outfit.” Those qualifiers are doing a lot of unintentional damage there. You’re admitting that the hypothetical old guy with distinct workplace power imbalance is offering a compliment for a purely sexualized purpose. Take those words out and maybe this passes as a mundane attempt to blame political correctness. Leave them in and you prove everyone’s point.

Now the Weinstein defense has indelibly staked out the dirty old man ground. The prosecutors are going to load up on the “someone’s wife or daughter” lingo which is insulting in its own right since it operates from the premise that women’s value is solely tied to their relation to men but… it’s pretty effective with jurors.

Maybe Brafman’s right. Maybe he’s seen 14 million outcomes of this trial and this is the only way. From this vantage point though it just looks like he’s dooming his case.

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer claims #MeToo movement is ‘so over the top’ [NY Daily News]

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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