I, myself, have serious disagreements with Jim and others here on various subjects, to put it mildly. There is, however, no question that without the efforts of boxturtlebulletin, Uganda would be murdering gays left and right, legally under their government.

Witnesses can be called to testify if they have testimony that is relevant to either the prosecution or the defense. It is not necessary that the testimony be “vital” to the case, as is asserted by commenter David Roberts. Nor is it the least bit relevant whether MB himself did anything illegal, as Burroway obtusely suggests. The vast majority of fact witnesses in criminal cases are not themselves suspected or accused of criminal acts. MB would not be called to testify as a punishment for wrongdoing, but in order to provide evidence so that the jury can reach a just verdict.

So the only question is whether he has anything relevant to add to the body of evidence. Ultimately, the judge will determine that. All the judge has permitted here is for Ravi (please note Regan Ducasse, that the defendant’s name is not “Davi”) to know the identity of this potential witness so that they can investigate and assess whether he should be put on a witness list. If Ravi cannot then justify calling MB as a witness, then the judge won’t permit it.

What useful testimony might MB add? Well, Ravi told the police that he interacted with MB when MB came to visit Clementi. He also told the police that he thought MB looked “shady” and he was concerned that MB might try to steal his stuff when MB was in the Ravi/Clementi dorm room, thus prompting Ravi to activate the webcam. Ravi might argue that MB can confirm that Ravi did not display any anti-gay hostility toward MB during their interaction (this being pertinent to the hate crimes charge) and that MB might bolster Ravi’s claim that he had reasonable grounds for fearing theft.

Is this persuasive? I tend to think not, but the point is that Ravi’s defense team is entitled to make this and other arguments to the judge. They can’t do that if they don’t even know who MB is. The judge did the right thing here. He also deprived the Ravi team of an easy basis for a later appeal.

It is not fair, it is not satisfying, it is certainly not what we of the queer community experience as often as do the hateful Christians who attack us. None-the-less, it is the only way to prevent society from becoming a tyranny of the majority against the rights of the minority.

OK, I know that rings hollow given our sub-human status in the US. It’s still the right thing to do, even if it doesn’t hold for us.