Better Thinking Wanted

Empty Chairs?

“Never select a political reporter for jury duty. There are honorable exceptions, of course, but the rule holds true: most political reporters are either unable or unwilling to harness the cognitive and analytic effort involved in grasping basic evidentiary principles. Plausibility? Credibility? Inference? You might as well be speaking a foreign language.” . . . 

“Every day, in courtrooms throughout the United States, jurors make decisions about civil matters small and large. They only have to satisfy themselves that a fact or element of a case is more likely than not. And they often do so largely or entirely based on circumstantial evidence. So how come we keep hearing [from the press] that it is impossible to assess a variety of Gov. [Mitt] Romney’s plans because of a lack of detail? . . . A jury wouldn’t have any trouble concluding that Mr. Romney was, in fact, trying to cover his tracks.”

—Craig Gurian, columnist & media critic, “Never select a political reporter for jury duty,” Oct. 10, 2012

• Editorial Comment: I object!
• Yesterday’s WORD: Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs from singer-songwriter Tift Merritt on why she doesn’t watch television? Click here.

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