JURY FOUND Saif Khan Innocent. Khan’s Lawyer Responds to Resulting Hysteria & Fake News
I’m not surprised that my client was acquitted. And I am not surprised the state prosecuted. Yale has enormous clout and power in New Haven. The University’s treatment of sexual assault complaints is appalling. Accusers are deemed victims without proof, and fundamental fairness in the investigation of these complaints is sorely lacking. The accuser claimed my client raped her. She needed to earn the right to be called a victim by convincing a jury what she said is true…How dare I ask questions about text messages, alcohol consumption and what the accuser wore. To politicize this case and to suggest that the questions I asked the accuser set back woman’s rights or was otherwise an exercise in unconscionable conduct is not just wrong, it is asinine. Any defense lawyer has the responsibility to cross-examine a witness on the topics on which the state has the witness testify. I’ve long been skeptical of press coverage of trials, but reaction to the Khan case gave me a whole new appreciation of “fake news.” Those who decry the verdict, or the defense tactics, based on incomplete reporting of the case are reacting like hysteric fools. Perhaps this acquittal will shed light on what comes of assuming that every accusation is true.
pattisblog.com Mr. Khan’s attorney Norman Pattis
