Book: Wild Justice

R >> Ruth M. Sprague >> Wild Justice




Other discrepancies were brought out. T's that were not
crossed, small i's with a backward slant, the written letter R
which looked like a U. These and other examples of letters found
in the `suspicious' SmurFFs, were not found to be represented in
twenty years worth of material allegedly copied from the files.

"It doesn't matter," Avery asserted. "I mean it is entirely
possible that the writer could have made an R like that even
though I can't show you an example."

"You were given samples of what you were told was my
handwriting that covered twenty to thirty years?"

"Yes."

"Is it not true that a person's handwriting may change due to
injury or disease such as osteoporosis, rheumatism or arthritis?"

"I would agree that a person's handwriting can change over the years."

"Do you know of any statistical studies pertaining to the accuracy
of handwriting analysis?"

"Accuracy?"

"Yes. Is it 50%, 75% or 100% accurate? Do you know of any studies made?"

"It is 100% accurate. It is allowed in the courts."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying the courts have made a study?"

"I don't know if such a study has been made. But the courts
allow handwriting identification testimony to be given."

"That is damn different than statistical tests of accuracy.
Tell me this. Courts allow juries to give verdicts of guilty or not guilty,
is that correct?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't mean that they are always correct in their assessment,
that just means that the court accepts it, right?"

"Yes."

"You are aware that the courts accept and allow testimony
from any number of so-called experts in many different fields
such as doctors, psychologists, engineers and natural scientist,
just to name a few?

"Yes."

"This does not necessarily mean that all of these are
one hundred percent correct in their testimony.
It just means that the court accepts and allows it.
Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Sources of error can exist in handwriting analysis, can they not?
There are a lot of judgment calls just like there is in most professions,
isn't that correct?"

"Yes."

"So we really have no evidence that handwriting analysis is infallible.
In fact, there are document examiners that are honest enough not to claim that."

"Well, they must be graphologists. We are on a different basis
and it cannot be carried over to what we are doing."

Trenchant then named a well known document examiner
and asked if Avery knew of him.

"Of course."

"Is he a graphologist?"

"No."

"We talked to him about this situation and asked him questions.
Unfortunately, it was much too expensive to bring him here to testify,
however, he did agree to make an affidavit. I will read from it now.
Quote. `It is my opinion that the identification of handwriting
is not as positive as fingerprint identification. While a document examiner
may feel that his or her opinion is 100 percent positive, the facts are
that the opinion is based on qualifications, training, experience
and judgment, any of which may be limiting or otherwise subject
to question. In addition, the known standards used in the
comparison for the Belmont case may be tainted or under dispute.'"

"I don't agree." The document examiner said, visibly upset.

Henry called a recess.

When the session opened again, Diana asked, "If you had your druthers,
would you agree with other document examiners that original standards
are preferable to copies?"

"Yes."

"You have said that you could not reach a conclusion from
the first lot of so-called standards sent to you. If you had
not been sent all that additional material going back 20 to 30
years, what would have been your conclusion?"

"I would have no conclusion."

"I am interested in your report of this note. The other
unknown material you were sent was written on evaluation forms.
I am speaking now of the note." Trenchant held up her copy.

Avery nodded and located his copy among the papers before
him on the table.

"Now, you report that you cannot be sure of the authorship
of this note which has quite a few words but you can be sure of
the authorship of this evaluation form which has only two words."

Avery found the other document referred to and looked at them
and then at his notes. "Yes," he agreed. "I could not be sure
of the note because it contains block printing."

"So do these other SmurFFs that you say you have identified.
There is some block printing on the note that we are talking about,
but most of it is small case printing."

"Well, there were not enough individualistic examples
in the note to be sure."

Henry wished that they had never let that note be sent to
the document examiners. It had been nothing but trouble and
was not related to the SmurFF forgery that Diana was charged with.
That damn note which had come out of nowhere--reportedly given Lyle
by his good friend but never verified, was not identified as being
written by Diana by either of the two document examiner firms.
The two examiners also differed on the identification of
one of the `suspect' medical school SmurFFs. One was sure
of Exhibit 2 but not of 3. The other was sure of 3 but not of 2.
Henry recalled that now both document examiner witnesses agreed
that the handwriting did change over the years. Jesus, if this
woman keeps it up, she'll destroy all our evidence. Quickly,
Henry stepped in and Amos Avery, the second document examiner
that the Belmont administration had hired, was excused.




Chapter 33


After Avery left the hearing room, Diana put the expert
document examiner's affidavit, that she had read from,
into evidence. The expert had sworn in this affidavit
that all of the student evaluations for the medical school
courses for those years should be analyzed. It was possible
that another person or persons had handwriting or printing
that was similar to Diana's. She read this portion to the
committee and added that she hoped they would read the
complete affidavit which contained several pages of the
document examiner's credentials.

All along, the women kept their eyes either on these papers
or on the witness. They steadfastly refused to look at Diana
or at the chair. They asked few questions of the witness,
tonelessly, and did not ask any follow up or clarifying questions.

Annette gives new dimension to the act of keeping a low profile,
thought Henry. Her demeanor resembles that of a puppy that has
just been whipped for pissing on the new carpet. Jane, on the
other hand, adopts a superior mien. Her greatly elevated nose
brings her whole being into an altitude seemingly far above
the detestable situation she finds herself in.

As for Esther, well, she's a wreck. Never terribly lucid
in her thought processes, she babbles incoherently and then
apologizes when asked to repeat them. Her piggy eyes dart
from witness to her papers in a flurry of indecisiveness.

Frank Anuse is up to form though and really enjoying it.
Henry watched Frank proudly as he flung Diana a shit eatin' grin
at every opportunity and at times actually taunted her in a way
reminiscent of a town bully.

At this point in the proceedings, Anuse laughed aloud in a derisive,
taunting fashion, causing everyone on the panel to look at him
in shocked silence. The chair put up a warning hand.

Esther, all the way out in left field and looking bewildered asked,
"I don't remember. Did we receive something from the students?"

Diana stood up and walked over to where Anuse sat. Jowl to jowl with him,
she said succinctly, "It isn't funny, Mr. Frank Anuse. It is not funny,
it is serious." To Esther, she said, "You probably don't see everything
that comes in or goes out of this committee.

"Again, I want to state that I have been denied access to all
these student evaluations that are needed for my defense.
In addition, this committee has steadfastly refused to confirm
the testimony of their witnesses concerning these documents
by demanding that they be produced." Diana returned to her chair.

Her attorney, Al Garret, leaned over and whispered into her ear.
He congratulated her on heeding his advice to be assertive and demanding.

Diana continued, "I would like to call Dr. Stacy Denton who
has information on the writing of the suspect documents."

"Is this. . .", Henry floundered. "Is this new information
referring to the document examiner we just heard from? This
hearing is restricted, as I told you, to his testimony and--"

"This witness has very pertinent information for the
committee regarding my innocence of your charges."

"We do need to restrict this hearing"

"Dr. Denton has been waiting nearly three hours to give her testimony."

The chair shrugged and muttered under his breath. What would Simon
Murrain advise. I need time to think about it. Aloud he said,
"The committee will recess to discuss this."

Everyone was told to leave the hearing room except the committee.
When they were alone, Henry made it clear. "We must limit this
hearing only to the evidence we presented."

Jane, with grave misgivings concerning her future at Belmont,
rose to the occasion. "I think we need to hear this. We should
at least appear to be giving her a fair hearing."

"She's already had that," snapped back Henry. "This hearing is expressly
for confirming the findings of the first document examiners. Nothing else."

Anuse, who had watched the others leave the hearing room
unexpectedly sided with Jane and urged caution. "Perhaps we
should hear her, Henry. Those damn reporters are still out there.
If we don't let her testify, it will be the lead story in tomorrow's paper."

"Still there, are they? Bothersome creatures! Well, that
puts a different face on it." He sat for a moment in thought.
He'd had his orders. They were to wind this up fast.
"All right. We'll hear that witness, however, I am declaring
this hearing closed as of right now. Her testimony will appear
to be heard by the panel and will be in the minutes to keep
the Attorney General and the press off our backs.

"But make no mistake, any of you." He looked around at all
the committee members, his face stern and his voice threatening,
"We meet tomorrow at nine o'clock right here to sign this report
that you have already seen. I'll redraft it to indicate that we
have had this additional testimony, but essentially, it will read
the same. Is that clear?"




Chapter 34


The hearing resumed.

Dr. Stacy Denton was sworn and Diana thanked her for waiting so long.
"Would you please state your qualifications as an expert witness?"

"Yes, but first I must ask that you waive the privilege of confidentiality."

"Of course. I absolutely waive the privilege of confidentiality
so that you may respond to my questions and those of the panel."

Stacy then delivered a long list of professional qualifications having
to do both with mental health counseling and organizational consulting.

As she was giving the requested information, Jane wished the
panel could hear of the immense prestige Dr. Stacy Denton
had acquired throughout the university community over the
years that she had been a part of the Counseling Department.
Not only was she widely acclaimed, she was genuinely liked
and successful as a person, in the department she directed.
At the age of 42, she had shown abilities in her field that
most did not acquire until their later years. This caused
some annoyance for her since she was constantly besieged by
other counseling agencies all over the country, to come to them.

Jane remembered that when she had felt the shackles of threat
surround her, and realized that she really had no voice or will
on the committee, she had called Stacy. Of course Stacy could not
tell her that she had counseled Diana at the time she was first charged.
She could only listen to Jane's anguish at her own impotence.
It was only after Diana had called to ask Stacy if she would be willing
to sign an affidavit for the federal court action, that Stacy could see
a way to do something. She offered to also appear as a witness at
this final Belmont hearing if it were felt she would be needed.
Few people of her stature would have waited outside the hearing room
as she did, knowing that the committee might not even hear her testimony.

She testified that she had seen Diana professionally several times
and that in her years of experience and training she had learned
techniques to determine behavior.

"I saw no evidence that Diana was lying, dissimulating or faking.
I should say that in my position here, I see many people who are
in trouble and there is a pattern to these reactions. She exhibited
what we in the profession call the typical victim reaction.

"In subsequent visits, I did a more thorough mental status exam.
I used all sorts of techniques that uncover whether a person may
be unconsciously suppressing the fact that she wrote something,
or did something.

"I believe that she could not have been lying." Stacy said succinctly.
"She was too upset, too shocked, to really fake me out."


Henry carefully distorted her words in the recommendation
the committee later signed and sent to The Pope to read,
`the psychologist found that Diana Trenchant had a genuine
victim response and truly believes herself to be innocent.'
A far, and exceedingly prejudiced, cry from the actual testimony
of the psychologist. In fact, in the six page document,
he devoted only ten lines to Diana and her witnesses testimony--
one short paragraph!

Diana asked Stacy if she could, without violating confidentiality,
tell of similar cases at Belmont where a faculty person had been
accused of wrong doing.

"It happens quite frequently, perhaps as often as once a month--
certainly a regular event. And in none of these cases which might
involve repeated incidents of drunkenness, sexual harassment,
and, well, I can't go into details, but these are serious areas
of misconduct that I'm referring to--not something as insignificant
as seven SmurFFs! In none of these cases was the person ever told
to resign or face a termination for cause hearing. The problem was
handled by the proper department head. Either a warning was given
or appropriate disciplinary action was taken."

When Diana asked if the committee had any questions, Jane,
in an attempt to demonstrate the proficiency of this expert witness,
once again bravely ventured forth asking Stacy to delineate some
of the techniques used in this case and how she evaluated them.

The psychologist did this clearly and precisely, giving the
methods used and how Diana reacted. It was very illuminating
testimony and totally ignored, except by the women who had hoped
that it might cause Henry to listen.

At one point, Anuse tried to twist Stacy's words around so
it appeared that she was been saying that Diana had denied
that there was any trouble with any person in the department.

Stacy Denton set him securely and competently back on his heels,
leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that she was no person to try
those tactics on.




Chapter 35


When Stacy had been excused, the chair was ready to adjourn.
On the advice of her attorney, Diana requested that it be on
the record that, Anuse, one of the panel members had acted
throughout the hearing in a manner prejudicial and threatening
to Diana and to her witnesses.

Henry was livid with anger. "You are out of order. You are
making statements about people on the committee that has
nothing to do with this. Your comment will not be entered
and the committee will disregard it."

How typical of that woman to state the obvious, he fumed inwardly.
Always before, while ruling, he had kept his cool and at least
glanced at the panel members for assent or dissent. This time
he ably demonstrated that the show of democratic procedure was only that--
a show. Damn her. She had unglued him that time.

In any event, Diana was refused permission to enter the
evidence she had that would have shown that Anuse was biased.

Next, Diana reviewed the poor performance given by the document examiner.
"He testified that he could not make a decision on the first set of exemplars
sent him. Then when he was sent twenty years' worth of documents containing
the handwriting of multiple individuals, he claimed that he disregarded most
of it. She went over all of the individual letters in the `suspect'
evaluations that Avery had not been able to match with anything
in the writing he used as standards. "This shows that there were
as many non-matches as matches in his presentation."

The panel listened passively, then Henry asked if that was
her final statement.

"No," she answered. "I shall read that now." She picked up
the paper which had been written mostly by her attorney and
edited by her. It was designed to get the legal points on the
record so that they could be presented later in a court of law.

"We are at the end of another hearing and it is a grim
page in the rights of faculty members of this university.
I have been tried by a committee which is chaired by the
prosecuting official. He has reopened proceedings,
engaged in ex parte communications, received legal advice
from the prosecution's lawyer and denied me the opportunity
to even examine the evidence against me.

"A faculty member at any state college, and indeed, a mail room
employee in the state Motor Vehicle Department would have more rights
than you have given me."

Henry tuned her out. All this legal stuff, he thought, is just
to give her attorney crap to fill a brief. Murrain had told him
this would probably happen. Now, what's this? Alertly, Henry listened.

"There are strong reasons to believe this panel has operated
in violation of my state and federal rights. If this committee
does not end this unfortunate proceeding, the U.S. District Court
will finally have to determine these issues.

"This committee, at the last hearing, made several
promises to me and I was fool enough to believe them.
It said that it would issue a decision within a few weeks;
instead, it launched a new investigation of its own without
my knowledge or participation which consumed over half a year.
Second, this committee assured me that I would not be affected by
these charges as I continued my teaching assignments in the department.
`Go back to work,' you all assured me at the last hearing.
`Everything is taken care of.' I went back and was ordered to
move out of my office into a corner of the nutrition teaching lab.
I was denied a telephone and given no help in moving my things.
My name has been removed from the department mail boxes
and department meetings are held when I am teaching classes.
For these many months, while you reopened the investigation
behind my back, I have been a non-person in my department."

Jane shifted in her chair uneasily. She recalled how all
of these promises had been made when the panel had ended the
first hearing. In fact, she had made some of them herself. It
had seemed then, she reflected, that the evidence against Diana
was inconclusive and that the majority of the panel felt this was
so. She had expected that just a simple vote of the panel would
send Diana back to her classroom where she belonged.


"I have served this university for nearly a quarter-century.
Students have consistently reviewed my efforts favorably
and that is a source of much consternation in my department.
The entire central administration is prosecuting me,
angered because I insisted on minimal rights. For example:
I refused to have my job eliminated or my copyrighted manual
used without my consent. They are determined to terminate me
and have spared no resources in support of that goal.
It would appear that some of these efforts violate my rights
under state law, federal law, and the Constitution.

That's really what it's all about, decided Annette, as she kept
her head lowered and her eyes fastened on the unseen files before her.
Violation of her rights. Violation of my rights to freely consider
the evidence both for and against her and render an impartial judgment.


"I believe this case represents what is in store for a person
who does not remain in the favor of those who determine policy
for this university.

"I have been accused of writing seven SmurFFs over a two
year period. Only five of these seven were alleged to have been
detrimental to two faculty men, Ian and Randy. This is five out
of the six to eight hundred submitted for medical radiology
during that time. At a minimum, even were these charges true,
the misconduct of which I am accused would be dishonesty, but of
a variety with no real import or effect."


Diana stopped and reached for the glass of water in front
of her. I wish I could tell these people what it has been like
working here in this university for the last twenty-five years.
If they would only listen, I'd throw out this prepared statement
in a flash and start with. . .her thoughts went back only a very
few years, to before the affirmative action laws.

She recalled vividly how she was treated, what women were
subjected to--still subjected to, she amended, wryly.
Lewd, suggestive poses of women in every lab and office.
Huge posters on many doors facing the hallways.
Projections via slides of scantily or unclothed women
in provocative poses that were used to "illustrate"
lecture material and treated with derision by the male lecturer.
We couldn't complain because we were told that if we didn't like it
we could leave. We were told that this activity was normal and healthy.
We were told that if we found it offensive, we must be `queer'.

And then that wonderful day when Sally, a woman graduate student,
found and placed on her door, a large full length picture of an unclad male.
He was young and pleasant looking--like the boy next door.
No suggestiveness here. Just the human male form.
His penis hung quietly from his pelvis, as unremarkable
and vulnerable as the breast of an old woman.
But what an uproar it caused. The men were furious.
They clucked and cackled like a bunch of biddy hens
which had been surprised by a predator's invasion of the hen house.
Diana held the glass to her mouth for a few moments more even though
she was not drinking to stifle the smile that was trying to force
itself into being from the memory.

The offending poster was quickly torn down, torn up and
still the cacophony continued unabated. That is, until Sally
was called in to the NERD chairman's office. When she emerged,
she packed up her belongings and left. Of course, we can't have
that kind of sexual depravity continue. The men were certainly
united in that decision. How quickly and easily they can fire
women for whatever men define as impropriety.


She continued with her statement. "We have seen no evidence that
any faculty were injured by those SmurFFs. The evaluations that had
an impact were the hundreds of evaluations that we have not seen
despite my efforts to have them made available for this hearing.
If these faculty had problems, it was with their teaching.

"There is no evidence or any proof as to when, or even if,
these seven SmurFFs were submitted.

"The administration has not shown any motive on my part to
fabricate and submit them. What I am really accused of is
manipulating student opinion to deny Ian and Randy tenure,
when, in fact, neither have been denied tenure and I have not
manipulated student opinion. If student evaluations improved
the year that I did not teach in the course, it was in part
because previous criticisms have been taken to heart and teaching
improved in the course. And also because Ian specifically
instructed the students to make only positive comments.
You could verify this by talking to the medical students,
but you are not allowed to."


Esther tried to follow Diana's words and rebut each point
as she heard it but was overcome by the simple truth of
what she was hearing. She, too, had been convinced that the
handwriting evidence was not to be trusted. One of the people in
her department had once worked at NERD. She had confirmed the status
of Diana in the department and corroborated what she had told the panel.
Esther shrugged. Too bad, can't be helped, she thought.

"Evidence was introduced at this hearing without being authenticated.
Hundreds of SmurFFs were described but shown to no one.
Professional witnesses were used against me yet I was not allowed
to have an attorney cross-examine them. And the ultimate injustice
is that the prosecution official is the chair of the hearing panel!

"I do not believe that I ever had a chance in these proceedings.
If the administration's evidence is insufficient, you reopen
the hearing and get more, using unauthenticated material.
If I am effectively questioning a witness, interrupt me,
as you did countless times. If there is evidence on my behalf,
you deny it to me."


Frank Anuse was delightedly and avidly listening to Diana's
closing statement. God, he thought. You can sure tell that it
was written by a lawyer and he's pulled out all the stops.
What a tear jerker, he judged, cynically. As if any of what
she was saying mattered. The facts were that we decide what
will be correct, not the stupid courts. Besides, she's getting
what she deserves after what she put me through with that complaint
to the Affirmative Action Office because I didn't interview male
applicants for positions in my department. He raged inwardly as
he remembered the time he had to spend to comply with the order
to produce all of his records and defend all of his placements.
Damned uppity bitch.

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