Joseph was handsome, young, well-built, prosperous and lived in a home
of luxury. In the political world, he was admired by the ruling party
and respected by the opposition. It seemed that everything Joseph
touched turned to gold. Life was good, and he rubbed elbows with the
richest of the rich.
One afternoon, Joseph returned home from work, troubled about the events
of the day, only to find the police waiting inside his home. An hour
later he was in jail. He had been accused in one of the first cases of
sexual assault. He kept denying, claiming he never touched her; but
everyone knew better. Too much evidence.
Joseph did not receive Due Process. As a result, he lost his luxurious
abode and personal property, his freedom and any pursuit of happiness.
All the news sources condemned him. The accuser, after all, was a
beautiful and irresistible woman, the wife of an important man,
completely credible. Plus, she had Joseph’s cape. There really was no
need for a trial, no need for Due Process. She had his DNA on a piece of
clothing.
What is Due Process?
According to the Legal Information Institute:
While there is no definitive list of the "required procedures" that Due
Process requires, Judge Henry Friendly generated a list that remains
highly influential, as to both content and relative priority:
An unbiased tribunal.
Notice of the proposed action and the grounds asserted for it.
Opportunity to present reasons why the proposed action should not be
taken.
The right to present evidence, including the right to call witnesses.
The right to know opposing evidence.
The right to cross-examine adverse witnesses.
A decision based exclusively on the evidence presented.
Opportunity to be represented by counsel.
Requirement that the tribunal prepare a record of the evidence
presented.
Requirement that the tribunal prepare written findings of fact and
reasons for its decision.
Due Process, derived from England’s Magna Carta (Clause 39), basically
states that there is a constitutional guarantee that legal proceedings
should be fair. The defendant will be notified in advance and given the
opportunity to be heard in a legal setting before losing his right to
life, liberty and property… and reputation.
Joseph’s life changed that day; and had they given him Due Process, the
authorities would have discovered that the woman was lying.
Sound familiar?
It is interesting to me that the Due Process guarantee from the Magna
Carta is in Clause 39, and the story of Joseph is in Genesis 39. They go
hand-in-hand.
About 4,000 years ago, Joseph became the 11th son of Jacob and one of
Abraham’s great-grandsons. Jacob’s descendants became the Children of
Israel; and Jacob’s twelve sons became the leaders of the twelve tribes
of Israel.
Joseph was hated by his older brothers who sold him into slavery to a
group of Ishmaelites (modern-day Muslims), making their way to Egypt. In
Egypt, Joseph was resold as a slave to Potiphar, Captain of the Guard.
From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he
owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph.
The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the
house and in the field. Genesis 39:5 NIV
In today’s world of sexual harassment charges, the line has grown fuzzy
between appropriate and inappropriate. A man in the United States is
being charged with sexual harassment because he whistled at a lady, and
this is an ongoing debate in England. Joseph did not whistle.
Day after day, Potiphar’s wife pleaded with Joseph to “go to bed with
me,” but he always refused. He was a Hebrew after all, and he knew this
would be a sin to God.
And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed
with her or even be with her. Genesis 39:10 NIV
The day that broke the camel’s back did not break Joseph. He was chosen,
and this was just another crook in his road.
Potiphar’s wife is not named, like Noah’s; but beware a scorned
Potiphar’s wife.
One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the
household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said,
“Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of
the house. Genesis 39: 11-12 NIV
The Ninth Commandment instructs mankind to “not bear false witness
against your neighbour.” In other words, do not lie against someone just
to cause him trouble. Do not accuse one of theft unless it is true. This
applies to sexual assault, too.
Things ended up well for Joseph. He finally interpreted a couple of
dreams for the Pharaoh, Potiphar’s boss; and Joseph became Pharaoh’s
right-hand man.
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land
of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it
on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold
chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his
second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he
put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Genesis 41:41-43 NIV
Four-thousand years after Joseph, Emmett Till did not receive Due
Process either. Emmett sexually harassed a woman by whistling at her.
Everyone knew he was guilty.
From the Chicago Tribune, August 28, 1955.
On Aug. 28, 1955, Emmett Till was beaten and shot for reportedly
whistling at a white woman while visiting relatives in Mississippi. The
body of the black 14-year-old from Chicago was discovered days later in
the Tallahatchie River. The accused killers were later acquitted by an
all-white jury. Till's mother, Mamie Till Mobley, insisted on an
open-casket funeral back home in Chicago, allowing tens of thousands of
people to view his mutilated body, publicly illustrating the violence of
Jim Crow segregation. Tribune news services
The accuser later recanted, and reports have her living in North
Carolina. Emmett has been dead for 62 years
Sexual harassment of any kind is unsuitable and should be unlawful, but
where is the line drawn? What do we do about the bearer of false
testimony?
If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, the
two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the
Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.
The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves
to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, then do
to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party.
You must purge the evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear
of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done
among you. Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,
hand for hand, foot for foot. Deuteronomy 19:16-21 NIV
It is a dilemma, and I am sure there are many people in powerful places
who wish this Pandora’s Box had not been opened; but it has.
There also
appears to be plenty of folk who could not care less about the Ninth
Commandment. There are plenty of people who do not fear God. But that
leaves more rooms for those who do.