Page 122 - Courting the Media Contemporary Perspectives on Media and Law

―Your Words Against Mine‖: States of Exception… 113

her. The case is clearly still not settled from her perspective. The second
sentence in Excerpt 5 is crucial. This is where she uses the expression ―words
stand against words‖ (―your words against mine‖) in order to disqualify the
court‘s decision entirely. She refers to the situation as one in which ―your
words [stands] against mine‖ and indicates that the court has acted as if they
completely relied on one version of the events as more truthful than the other,
although the premise she is alluding to, contained in the very expression which
she uses, is that both parties (still) carry equal weight. An effect of this is that
she appears as being more untrustworthy given that her words counted for less
than those of the man. That is, she argues that the court deliberately chose to
believe one party rather than the other, although according to her the case and
the amount of available proof could still be regarded as a draw. Thus, the court
has overruled the assumption that they should acknowledge both versions of
the event. She vents her feelings of misery and humiliation. The experience of
being publicly humiliated by the law is a major reason put forward for her
resignation from political office. We can only speculate if also other reasons,
such as peer pressure and the potential of political survival, played a role in
her resignation.
In order to understand this second context of use, we need to explore in
what sense ―your words against mine‖ can be used in order to benefit from a
specific position in a situation including contested accounts. The expression
has another function, yet she is using the connotations from the previous
context for her own purposes. When somebody is using the expression ―your
words against mine‖ this can also mean that one is speaking in favor of
oneself. Per definition, being engaged in a contested event means that you
yourself are a witness to the events. This is what you are striving to legitimate.
Being a witness to oneself is not, however, an acceptable or sufficient basis for
decisions in legal terms where external and independent witnesses are
regarded as more relevant and valuable. Any witness needs to be qualified as
an independent and reliable agent in order for their testimony to count. If a
person‘s (internal) testimony should be given any credit at all, it must conform
to those made by external witnesses. The validity of a testimony can be tested
through a general examination of the person‘s character and credibility. In
various social relations and disputes, however, these individual (internal)
reports are the only forms of testimony available. To witness on behalf of
yourself or by the help of an attorney means that your own words and the
proof that you can convey together carry an equal or stronger weight than the
other party‘s. To say that the words carry an equal or stronger weight means
that the total sum of arguments, proofs, observations, memories and rhetorical