‘That’s okay, thanks,’ Anna answered quickly. ‘We have errands to run.’
We do? Maggie thought, but didn’t say.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Noah, After
TRIAL, DAY 5
Linda signaled to her paralegal. ‘Dr Alderman, please direct your attention to Commonwealth Exhibit 52, which is the transcript of the PFA hearing.’
Thomas jumped up. ‘Your Honor, I object to the admission of the transcript as hearsay, violative of my client’s constitutional right to confrontation, and unduly prejudicial.’
Linda turned back to the judge. ‘Your Honor, the transcript is admissible as a hearsay exception under rule 804(b)(1) in that it is former testimony that was given as a witness at trial who is now unavailable, due to death. The defendant had a full and fair opportunity to examine the witness at the hearing, under Commonwealth v. Bazemore.’
Judge Gardner nodded. ‘The objection’s overruled.’
‘Thank you, Your Honor.’ Linda signaled again to her paralegal, and the screen came to life with a portion of the transcript:
Mr Carter: Ms Desroches, what happened when you went out for a driving lesson with your stepfather on Thursday night, April 27?
Ms Desroches: He took me driving in the parking lot behind the shopping center, and it was after dark. It was just the two of us in the car, and on the way over, he said some inappropriate things to me. They were compliments but over the line.
Mr Carter: Like what?
Ms Desroches: Like that I was beautiful, and I had great eyes, nice hair, and I had great dimples like my mom.
Mr Carter: How did that make you feel?
Ms Desroches: I thought it was nice at first, but then it started to make me very uncomfortable. I mean, he’s my stepfather. He was acting like we were on a date.
Linda faced Noah. ‘Dr Alderman, you were present when Anna testified about these inappropriate remarks, were you not?’
‘Yes.’
‘You testified that you didn’t make any such remarks, isn’t that right?’
‘No, that was not my testimony,’ Noah answered, without hesitation. Linda was trying to trip him up, but it wouldn’t work. Thomas warned him that his trial testimony had to be consistent with his PFA testimony, so Noah had memorized the PFA transcript. Surprisingly, his memorization skills from med school weren’t rusty.
‘What did you say to Anna in the car?’
‘I might have said, “you look nice,” but that was it.’
‘You never told her she had great eyes?’
‘No.’
‘You never told her she had nice hair?’
‘No.’
‘You never told her she had great dimples?’
‘I said that, too.’ Noah felt on edge. He tried not to look at the back row for Maggie. He would be pointing her out to the media.
‘Isn’t it true that you intended your compliments to be seductive?’
‘No.’
‘But you intended it to be pleasing and flattering, did you not?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you were trying to flatter Anna, weren’t you?’
‘No, not flatter her.’ Noah was about to say per se, but caught himself. ‘I was trying to be nice.’
‘You were trying to get Anna to like you, isn’t that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘So that you could seduce her, isn’t that right?’
‘No.’
‘Dr Alderman, weren’t you grooming her?’
‘Objection, Your Honor!’ Thomas rose. ‘The prosecutor is using an inflammatory and prejudicial term.’
Linda faced Judge Gardner. ‘Your Honor, that term could not be more relevant to this case.’
Judge Gardner nodded. ‘Overruled.’
‘Thank you, Your Honor,’ Linda said, turning to Noah. ‘Dr Alderman, weren’t you trying to groom her?’
‘No, I wouldn’t use the term grooming.’
Linda nodded. ‘Oh I see, you took the hint from your counsel, didn’t you?’
‘Objection, Your Honor.’ Thomas half-rose. ‘Counsel is testifying and trying to –’
‘Sustained,’ Judge Gardner said, before Linda could even argue.
‘Dr Alderman, please direct your attention to the next section of Commonwealth Exhibit 52.’ Linda signaled to the paralegal, and the screen changed.
Mr Carter: Let’s return specifically to the night of April 27, when you went out for your driving lesson with your stepfather. Do you recall what happened that gave rise to your petition?
Ms Desroches: Yes, I’m sorry. That’s what you asked me before. I’m a little nervous. It’s so weird to be here. I never was in court before, and it’s hard to say these things, out loud.
Mr Carter: Of course. We understand. That’s okay.
Ms Desroches: What he said was, um, sexual, and it’s weird to say in front of everybody, especially him, since he’s looking at me like that.
Mr Carter: You mean your stepfather is looking at you a certain way in the courtroom, right now?
Ms Desroches: Yes, he’s glaring at me. I know he’s mad I filed the petition but I want him to stop doing – Mr Carter: Let the record reflect that the Defendant is attempting to intimidate this witness. Your Honor, I ask that the Defendant be removed from the courtroom immediately.
Mr Owusu: Objection, Your Honor. I’m sitting next to my client and he is doing no such thing.
Mr Carter: But Your Honor, Defendant’s attorney cannot see his client’s face from his vantage point.
Mr Owusu: Your Honor, I object to Petitioner’s request. These are grave allegations, and the Defendant intends to take the stand. He cannot exercise that right if he has not been permitted to hear the testimony.
Mr Carter: Your Honor, Defendant is in no way entitled to intimidate this young woman, taking unfair advantage of their disparate positions and power. Not only is he her stepfather, but he is older and a doctor.
The Hon. Jane Hamilton: I will permit Defendant to remain in the courtroom. Dr Alderman, I was not looking at you, so I cannot determine if you were making menacing faces -
The Defendant: I wasn’t, Your Honor.
The Hon. Jane Hamilton: Please don’t interrupt me. I wasn’t asking for a response, sir. You’re not under oath and you may not testify from counsel table. I warn you that I will not allow the intimidation of any witness who comes before me seeking a Protection From Abuse order against a domestic abuser. My courtroom always will be a safe place for them, and I will not allow it to be violated in any way, shape, or form. Mr Carter, you may continue your direct examination of the witness.
Linda straightened. ‘Dr Alderman, you recall that exchange, don’t you?’
‘Yes.’ Noah remembered being startled when Anna referred to him directly from the stand, and the judge’s explanation characterized him as a domestic abuser in front of the jury. He heard them shifting, and the courtroom sketch artist flipped a page of brown paper, her pastel chalk between her teeth.
‘Weren’t you making faces at Anna to intimidate her?’
‘No.’
‘So when she said that, she was lying?’
‘Yes.’
‘Dr Alderman, you previously testified that you had some anger at Anna for filing the Petition for the PFA, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘You had some anger because you claim Anna falsely alleged that you had attempted to engage in sexual misconduct with her, isn’t that right?’
‘Yes.’
‘You had not heard the specifics of these allegations before Anna testified about them at the PFA, isn’t that correct?’
‘Yes.’
‘So if they were untrue, as you claim they are, then they would have come as a surprise to you, wouldn’t they?’
‘Yes.’
‘Isn’t it possible that when you heard those allegations against you for the first time, your facial expression reflected some anger?’
‘I don’t know, I can’t say. I don’t know what my face looked like that day.’
Linda’s eyebrow lifted. ‘Then you can’t know that you didn’t look angry, can you?’
‘Well, no.’
‘So then, isn’t it entirely possible that you did look angry when you heard Anna’s testimony, isn’t that correct?’
‘I . . . suppose so.’ Noah had just contradicted himself. Linda had hog-tied him with his own words.
‘So then Anna wasn’t lying when she said that your expression was angry, was she?’
‘No.’
Linda signaled to her paralegal. ‘Let’s move on.’
Chapter Thirty