Sex and Justice-Alex Moore

Alex Moore

March 2nd, 2016

Period 3

Sex and Justice

Prompt #1

I think that Justice Clarence Thomas means that he is getting killed in a different manner. He refers to when blacks were getting lynched in previous times. Here he is arguing that the accusations against him are a more modern form of lynching. He felt that his name was being murdered. Professor Anita Hill accused Judge Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. She claimed that he made unwanted comments toward her in the workplace. Judge Thomas denied all of the claims. In my opinion, Professor Anita Hill had no malintent, she just wanted to share her experiences of what took place. Judge Clarence Thomas felt that she was trying to block his nomination. I was disgusted at the way Judge Thomas denied the many claims against him and made Anita Hill look like she was a liar.The congressional committee was very rough on Professor Hill. They were acting like she was a scorned woman who just wanted revenge. The republicans very aggressive and were attacking her, while the democrats were more sensitive and understanding of the professor. When the committee was taking to Judge Clarence Thomas, they brought up what Professor Anita Hill said. They didn’t do a lot of questioning of him. The democrats continued to stick up for Anita Hill. The committee did influence the decision of the Senate. Judge Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the supreme court by a 52-48 vote.

Prompt #2

The proceedings that took place in the film Sex and Justice and the McCarthy hearing are very similar. In both of these cases people were trying to recall events that took place ten plus years prior. These cases required people to recall very small details from a long time ago. 58% of the respondents of a New York Times/CBS News poll felt that Judge Clarence Thomas was right. People felt that judge Clarence Thomas was being unfairly treated. They felt that details could not be recalled accurately. The only proof that the prosecutors had in the McCarthy hearings was that the accused invoked their Fifth Amendment rights. People felt that this was not sufficient enough evidence. Americans believed that in both situations, a lack of evidence should have set the defendents free.