# The accused should have privacy protections just like the accuser

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-accused-should-have-privacy-protections-just-like-the-accuser/485454
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [February 12, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-accused-should-have-privacy-protections-just-like-the-accuser/485454 "2009-02-12T00:41:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-accused-should-have-privacy-protections-just-like-the-accuser/485454/21 "2009-02-13T16:17:33Z")

</div>

> [@Sailboat](#):
>
> Exactly – I always caveat that [the state] is required to \*consider \*the accused innocent until proven guilty. The state of _actual_ guilt or innocence accrued at the moment the crime was committed (by the accused, or by someone else, in the case of the accused’s innocence).

Sigh.

Clearly that was one of those jokes that just went _whoosh_ and killed a goose overheard.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-accused-should-have-privacy-protections-just-like-the-accuser/485454/22 "2009-02-13T16:32:19Z")

</div>

I’ve often thought this, too, especially for sex crimes, where even being accused of being a paedophile or rapist is enough to ruin a man’s life (and there’s always the canard about “no smoke without fire”, even if the accused is found innocent at trial).

Permitting “closed trials”, where the accused requests it, would fix this (it also sounds slightly authoritarian, and would never catch on: “UK engages in Nazi style secret trials” etc.), whilst still allowing the accused a public trial, but would also remove one motivation of malicious women falsely accusing men of rape.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-accused-should-have-privacy-protections-just-like-the-accuser/485454.md?page=1)