By: Jack Buchanan
“Just the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” We hear a lot these days about “alternative facts” or in the movie “Something’s Gotta Give,” Harry, played by Jack Nicholson, told his new girlfriend, Erica, played by Diane Keaton, when she caught him in a restaurant with another date, “I have never lied to you, I have always told you some version of the truth.” A very funny scene to illustrate the point. President Trump calls the media “Fake News” and “Enemies of the People” and the media accuses President Trump of making more than 12,000 false and misleading statements to the public.
Though there may be different views of the truth, the truth is absolute, and its accuracy is critical in making extremely important decisions. The captain flying a 747 airliner on final approach in zero visibility conditions must completely rely on the truth of his/her ILS instruments, the glide slope for descent and localizer for direction, and if they are sending him/her some version of the truth, even if only a few feet off, 500 passengers on board could be instantly destroyed in a fiery crash.
Though not as quickly, the same horrendous consequences could occur if the public is not given the absolute truth, based upon the best-known facts, of this extremely dangerous coronavirus pandemic that the world is suffering through right now. Are many people dying today because they were given some version of the truth that turned out to be wrong or misleading?
Lawyers spend three years in law school learning, first and foremost, how to think like a lawyer. They read hundreds of appellate court cases where every decision is based upon a given set of facts. In almost every one of those cases, judges, lawyers and juries spend days in court listening to sworn testimony and analyzing admissible physical evidence to determine the facts upon which the life, liberty and property rights of people depend. Seeking the truth, “the whole truth and nothing but the truth” is what is demanded of every witness who is sworn in to testify at trial under oath.
Throughout a series of articles, we will be asking you, our readers, to participate with us in writing this story. Since many of you are lawyers and fully understand the concept of admissible, reliable, and relevant evidence, your contributions to our pool of evidence will be very helpful in nailing down the truth in our “Blindsided” story.
Please send your contribution to The Primerus Weekly via the contact section of this eMagazine. All reliable evidence that you provide will be reviewed and authenticated before being including in our subsequent weekly edition of “Blindsided.”