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Q: What I had thought was interesting, Kathryn, was how at a couple of times, not so much with Ms. DeCoutere but some of the other witnesses, the judge went as far as to politely say that this was not inconsistency, these are not inaccuracies, that there were actually dishonest statements that were being made.

A: The reason why he can say that is because these witnesses already swore an oath. They swore an oath before trial when they gave the police statement and a lot of people again don’t appreciate that. But when someone sits down in a case, particularly like this with such serious allegations, they give a videotaped statement and they swear an oath just like they do in court. It means just as much as the one in court.

Q: One of the specific things the judge said that proved so controversial was, we must move past the myth that women never make false accusations of sexual assault. That was interpreted by many people as being a sly but meaningful testimony on the witnesses in this particular case.

A: The fact remains, and I see it all the time, people make false allegations. That’s what does a disservice to people who are honest and coming forward with the truth. In the context of sexual assault, women sometimes will fabricate an allegation for some reason that has nothing to do with whether the accused did something physically violent or sexually violent and it has to do with jealousy or manipulation.

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Q: What I find very interesting though is how on the one hand you’ve heard people saying two contradictory things at once. You’ve been hearing “believe women,” #believewomen even, we’ve reduced it to that. On the other hand, everyone will agree of course you’re innocent until proven guilty. I don’t know how we structure a system that believes women on the one hand and also presumes that the accused is innocent.