So Help Me God

by Larry D. Thompson

  "He's right, ladies and gentlemen," Judge O'Reilly ruled. "Evidence of malpractice or negligence, if any, must come from a qualified medical expert and Reverend Luther does not possess such qualifications. That comment is stricken from the record. You are instructed not to consider it for any purpose."

  "Mr. Tisdale, let me leave the issue of malpractice for others and just say that I thought that she had been wronged. I encouraged her to bring this lawsuit for another reason, too. When I was resurrected, I was put back on earth with several missions. However, my first and primary one was to end the practice of abortion, first in this country and later in the rest of the world. As I observed what had happened while I was gone, it became clear to me that we who oppose the killing of babies were not going to win the war any time soon in the U. S. Supreme Court, in Congress or in the state legislatures. We had to open a new battlefront and I chose this courthouse to launch that attack. I hope that Lucy is compensated for her injuries. More important for our cause, I pray for damages against these defendants large enough to put them and others like them out of business for good. Remember, Mr. Tisdale, there are about two million pre-born babies killed in this country every year. Our pre-born babies can't wait for Congress to get off its rear end or for the right president to come along to replace justices on the Supreme Court. We have a holocaust in our own country which must come to an end."

  "Now, Reverend Luther, let me bring your attention to one of the major issues in this lawsuit. You know that you, your church and a bunch of other pro-life organizations have been sued because of what you have said outside this courtroom."

  The witness's face grew taut and his back stiffened as he rested his hands on the gold Bible in front of him. "I am very much aware of those facts, Mr. Tisdale."

  "You saw the video clips that Mr. Duncan here showed to the jury when Dr. Moyo was on the stand?"

  "I did."

  "Do you want to take back any of those words?"

  T. J. turned to face the jury and again looked at each of them before speaking in a voice, low but firm with conviction. "My friends, I stand by every word I said and would not take back a one of them. If I were to be found to be bearing false witness, with or without an oath, you should not believe a single word that I speak. I tell you that an abortion doctor is a murderer. The clinics where abortions are performed are temples of death. Anyone who assists or supports the performing of an abortion is just as much a murderer as the doctor who actually kills the baby and also will be condemned to a life in hell."

  As he spoke, the jury gave no sign of whether they accepted or rejected what he said. Certainly, though, they listened and considered every word.

  "As Matthew said in his gospel," T. J. continued, "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.' Surely, any person who is even assisting another to have an abortion is violating God's Commandments and cannot expect to enter the kingdom of heaven. I spoke the truth on those television clips and I am speaking the truth now."

  Johnny Bob interrupted, "Reverend, how can you be so positive? You know that there are others who believe strongly that there is no life until the baby can live outside the womb."

  T. J. turned his gaze back to Johnny Bob and then shifted it to Dr. Moyo, replying, "Sir, I have studied the Bible as much as any man. I have conferred with the world's leading scholars. And I have some experiences that only one other man has ever had. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that life begins at the moment of conception and any person who takes that life or assists in the taking of such a life has killed a human being."

  Johnny Bob smiled to himself. T. J. had managed to get God's opinion in the case without actually saying that it was his Father that told him. Strong stuff if it is believed. On the other hand, there may be some jurors who think they are hearing the ravings of a lunatic. The answer, thought Johnny Bob, will be forthcoming in a couple of weeks.

  "What about a girl like Lucy who voluntarily decides to end her pregnancy, Reverend? Is she also to be condemned?"

  T. J. smiled at Lucy, "No, Mr. Tisdale. Of course not. A forgiving God is not going to condemn a child for being misled by the kind of evil adults who work at such clinics."

  Johnny Bob whispered to Claudia, then rose. "We pass the witness, Your Honor."

  "Fine, Mr. Tisdale. We'll call it a day," the judge replied. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please go with Mr. Johnson to the jury room. I have something that I need to discuss with you."

  Murmurs came from the media section. What was Judge O'Reilly discussing with the jury? As they were led out and the lawyers were packing their briefcases, the Chronicle courthouse reporter drifted over to one of the other bailiffs. "Hey, Bill, what's going on? What's the judge discussing with the jury?"

  "Can't tell you," he replied.

  "Come on, Bill, just as background. You know I keep my sources confidential."

  "Still can't tell you. I'd suggest that you go out the back to the jurors' parking lot and see what's going on."

  In the jury room, Judge O'Reilly had their attention. "You'll remember at the start of this trial that I told you that it was possible that you might be sequestered, checked into a hotel for the duration of the trial. Well, that time has come. I'm not sure how all of you get here each day, but I have thirteen deputy sheriffs with thirteen patrol cars out in your parking lot. One is assigned to follow each of you home if you are driving, or to take you to your house if you came today by some other means. The deputy will give you an hour to pack and explain things to your family. You will be driven to a hotel close to this building where you will stay for the duration of this trial. You'll have breakfast and dinner there. You will be permitted to have newspapers and magazines only after a deputy has read them. Any story about this trial will be cut from such publications. I invite you to bring any books you have from home. They will also be checked by the deputies."

  Moans came from several of the jurors.

  Joshua Ferrell muttered, "Shit!"

  It didn't offend Ruby. "Mr. Ferrell, I know that you are taking night classes. I'll be talking to the dean of the engineering department at the University of Houston to explain your absence. Please bring all of your textbooks and I'll make arrangements for any assignments to be delivered to the hotel. Does anyone else have any significant problems?"

  "Your Honor," Olga Olsen raised her hand. "I've changed to the night shift during this trial and have been working from six until midnight. This is going to put a real financial strain on me."

  "I'm sorry, Ms. Olsen. This was not something that I really anticipated. There's nothing that I can do about your situation."

  Her comment caused Roy Judice to ask, "Then tell us, Judge, why are we being sequestered?"

  "It's not a matter that I can discuss with you at this time. It'll have to wait until after the trial."

  Thirteen unhappy jurors followed Deputy Johnson out the back door of the building to their parking lot, now filled with sheriff's patrol cars. The Chronicle reporter had slipped out the back door and surveyed the scene before the jurors arrived. As soon as he saw the deputies, he figured out what was going on. He continued to observe as a deputy approached each of them and, one by one, they drove out of the parking lot, a sheriff's car behind them. The banner headline in the next morning's Chronicle read, "Brady Jurors Sequestered. One Juror Excused."

  ***

  Her mother shielded Anna May Marbley from phone calls, until there was one she could not refuse. In the afternoon after the Chronicle story broke, Anna May's mother received the call, this one from a reporter for The Texas Tattler, the local version of The National Enquirer. She listened and then handed the phone to her daughter. The Tattler offered ten thousand dollars if she would tell what happened. It didn't take long for the welfare mother to wrestle with her options and reach a decision. She wanted to do her civic duty. She preferred to abide by Judge O'Reilly's instructions. On the other hand, ten thousand
dollars might as well have been a million. She could pay off all her bills, buy some new furniture, outfit her kids and still have a couple of thousand left over. When the reporter offered to leave her name out of it and keep it strictly confidential, she told him to be at her house in an hour with a cashier's check.

  He arrived as requested, cashier's check in hand. The special edition of The Texas Tattler hit the newsstands and supermarkets the following day with its own banner headline, "Juror Threatened. Her Kids are in Danger."

  Deputy Johnson brought a copy of the paper to Judge O'Reilly in her office who frowned as she read article. There was nothing that she could do about it. The story would be in all of the media by nightfall. All she could do was mentally pat herself on the back for the decision to sequester the jury. She would have the bailiffs double their efforts to guard the jury from seeing or hearing anything from the media about the trial.

  CHAPTER 69

  On the evening after Johnny Bob had completed his questioning of T. J., a serious strategy session took place at the fire station. Tod joined Jan, Wayne, and Marilyn in the war room. "Okay, we've got a decision to make. Do we cross-examine T. J. now, or do we save it for when we put on our case? He made a pretty damn good witness, but he might have taken it a little far with all that stuff about 'his Father'."

  "Heck, Tod," Wayne replied, "I was kinda interested in finding out what God looked like. Maybe you ought to cross him now on what the devil looks like. Does he really have horns and a tail?"

  "Naw," Jan countered. "T. J. would just say that he was always in Heaven and never made it downstairs."

  "Well, I'm still disappointed that you didn't ask T. J. what the devil looked like. Heck, for all we know, he might have said, 'Well, to start, she's got long blond hair and a thirty-eight-twenty-four-thirty-six figure."

  The group laughed. Jan replied, "You know, I've heard that feminist joke about God being a woman. You're the first one that I've ever heard say that the devil might be a woman."

  "Hey, Jan," Wayne added, "Who was it that gave ol' Adam the apple. I submit that's conclusive proof that the devil must be a woman."

  Tod cut off the discussion. "Okay, you two. That's an interesting debate. If you haven't noticed, our case has a different one. Let's save the gender of the devil for another day. This is an important decision."

  "I know it is, Tod," Jan responded. "You're usually not so uptight. My vote is leave him alone for now. Let's see how the trial goes, particularly Johnny Bob's other experts and try to load up some ammunition for some really good cross toward the end of the case. I've got him pegged as one of those witnesses that starts off well, but the longer he spends on the stand, the less he'll be believed. I think at the end of the trial the jury will see him for the used car salesman he really is."

  "Wayne?"

  "I agree with Jan. Remember, the jury will have heard from our experts by the time you call him back."

  "Marilyn?"

  "Make it unanimous, Tod," she replied. "Besides, I'd kinda like to watch him sweat for the next couple of weeks, knowing that you're gonna put him back on the stand."

  CHAPTER 70

  Dr. Moyo and Marian usually arrived at the side entrance to the law school around eight-thirty. Their arrival attracted little attention, but not on this morning. At eight o'clock a small band of pro-life protestors were present, awaiting Dr. Moyo's arrival. They were only six in number and were led by a man in his mid-forties, dressed in the jeans and shirt of a laborer, carrying a rosary in his hands. By eight-fifteen, one of the Court TV photographers walked by and reported the scene to Victoria Burton. Five minutes later, she was interviewing the leader, who nervously fingered his rosary as he talked into the camera. Behind him stood the others in the small group, some with their own rosaries, some carrying gold covered Bibles, and one with a sign asking God to "Take the Souls of the Unborn into His Hands."

  "I'm here with George Blanchard at the side entrance to the law school-courtroom. Mr. Blanchard, what is your organization and can I ask why you are not out in front with the other demonstrators?"

  "Our small band is called the 'Helpers of God's Children.' Normally we maintain a vigil at abortion clinics, at the death scenes, if you will. We cannot prevent the children from dying. At least when they die, we will be there for them and pray to God for them. For all we know, it may be the only human love they will have on this earth. We want to be there when God's children are put to death. We are also there to let the abortionist and his helpers know that society refuses to recognize or accept abortion. We hope that our presence will give them reason to repent."

  Victoria Burton faced the camera. "I can understand such a mission at the abortion clinics. What do you hope to achieve here at the side entrance to the law school?"

  "We know that Dr. Moyo arrives here at about eight-thirty every morning. He needs to know we are here and feel our presence throughout the day. If you'll excuse me, I see him coming across the street now."

  The camera panned to show Dr. Moyo and Marian crossing at the corner and followed them as they made their way to the entrance. As they approached, the group lowered their heads in prayer. "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."

  The voices were low, but the words distinct. Dr. Moyo frowned as he grabbed his wife's elbow to hurry her by them and into the building. The small group continued to repeat the prayer until the camera quit rolling. As they walked through the halls to the elevator, Marian was visibly shaken. Zeke tried to calm her.

  "Those people were regularly outside the clinic. All of us who worked there frequently had to pass by them. We learned to ignore their presence and their prayers."

  Her husband's words did nothing to soothe Marian. Zeke decided that he might have to leave her at home for a couple of days, maybe for the remainder of the trial.

  When the judge had taken her place at the bench, Tod announced that he would save his examination of Reverend Luther until he put his witnesses on the stand. That brought questioning looks from both Johnny Bob and Claudia, but they were ready with their next witness.

  "Your Honor, before you bring the jury in, I have a matter to discuss with the court and counsel. Mr. Duncan has elected to start the presentation of his plaintiff case against our clients with the testimony from Dr. Moyo. Before I go forward with any more evidence on behalf of Ms. Brady, I'd like to present some witnesses in defense of the charges of Dr. Moyo and Population Planning."

  "I agree, Mr. Tisdale, only I remind you that you shouldn't even think about calling that long list of experts. That's not going to happen. Mr. Johnson, bring in the jurors."

  As the jurors took their seats, Johnny Bob announced, "Your Honor, we call Dr. Larson Kriegel in defense of the claims of slander made by Dr. Moyo and Population Planning."

  As he made the announcement, the doors at the top of the auditorium opened. Dr. Kriegel entered and made his way down the steps to the courtroom. Dr. Kriegel was a tall man in his late sixties. Mostly bald, he had a fringe of white hair and stooped shoulders that probably came from spending much of his life bent over a microscope. He wore a blue checkered sport coat, gray slacks and a red bow tie. Smiling at the judge and jury, he stopped in front of the bench and raised his right hand. It was apparent that this was not his first courtroom appearance. After being sworn, he did not wait to be directed, but moved to the witness stand, where he took a seat, smiled a good morning to the jury, leaned back, and waited for Johnny Bob to begin the proceeding.

  "Good morning, Dr. Kriegel. I must say that I admire your taste in ties. Do you tie those things yourself?"

  The jury grinned at the compliment about the red tie. Olga Olsen also grinned when she saw that Johnny Bob had a red handkerchief in his coat pocket. She won the pot for the day.

  "Mr. Tisdale, tying a bow tie is a simple matter. If you can tie your shoelaces, you
can tie this. And, to answer your question, yes, I do tie all my bow ties myself."

  Tod could see that this was going to be a long morning. It was bad enough that this guy had world class credentials. Now, he had the jury in the palm of his hand. Tod thought to himself, judge, could we take an early lunch break, like nine-thirty in the morning?

  "I called you 'doctor' because I know a little more about you than the rest of these folks in the courtroom. Would you be so kind as to tell the jury about your professional background and credentials?" Johnny Bob's demeanor was calculated to let the jury know that this was a man who was respected as one of the foremost authorities in his field. Dr. Kriegel smiled as he leaned forward and placed his hands on the witness stand in front of him, almost like he was going to peer at an imaginary microscope.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. I got my doctorate in microbiology at the University of Michigan and my medical degree at Harvard. After that I did a residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins. I stayed to teach pediatrics to the residents at Johns Hopkins for a number of years before I elected to devote all of my time to the study of genetics. At that time I returned to Boston. I am currently on a leave of absence from Harvard because I am working with a group that is devoting its entire energies to the human genome project. To sum it up, I have been researching and writing in the field of human genetics for more than thirty years."

  With Dr. Kriegel's pause, Johnny Bob jumped in, "Doctor, have you received any prizes or awards in the field of genetics?"

  "Nothing worth talking about. I suppose you are wanting me to say that I have been nominated for the Nobel Prize for my work on the genome project. I did figure out a way to shorten the time to complete the project by a year or two, and that seems to be important to some people."

  Satisfied that he had sufficiently established his expert's credentials, Johnny Bob moved on. "Dr. Kriegel, in your studies, experiments and so forth, and based on a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, have you formulated an opinion as to when human life begins?"