Book: Wild Justice

R >> Ruth M. Sprague >> Wild Justice




Ian carefully did not mentioned how this year, as Lyle had
directed, he had begged and implored the students to write
favorable reviews on their evaluation forms since his job
depended on it. . .


It was time to do course evaluations again. A great many
of the radiology students were unhappy that they had been told
to avoid contact with Diana who had helped them a great deal
during the past few months. They were told she was accused of
doing some terrible thing but that it would be forgotten and
forgiven if they as a class returned positive critiques for the course.

They also heard Ian's sad tale of imminent loss of job
and how he had just bought a new home ad nauseam.

The class officers discussed the situation and offered the following
advice to their classmates at a hastily called meeting just prior to exams.

"Don't write your radiology critique out of anger, even if
you feel angry. We don't want to cause her any more problems.

"Write anything positive you can think of and leave it at that.
Ian has tried hard and none of us want to hurt him. Also, use
a typewriter and keep a copy. None of us wants to hear Randy
fabricate results to his advantage.

"As most of you have heard, no medical student will be allowed
to testify for her, or for that matter, even attend the hearing.
Since many of you have indicated you want to do something,
just remember that we've been officially told to cool it.
The reality is that our future could depend on not rocking
the boat too much.

"Peter is starting a collection to be given to her anonymously.
At this point, it's all we can do. I'm sure she has additional
expenses because of all this. I wish we could tell you this is fair
and courageous. We can't. She is going down the drain, but it won't
help if we go down with her."

Susan Anders stood up. "I hear what you're saying and agree
for the most part. However, as one individual, I just had to
do something--this is such a vicious attack on her. I have
written and mailed a letter to the Pope which I signed and am
solely responsible for. In other words, none of you
are involved if there is any reprisal because of it.
In it, I expressed my displeasure and labeled the
prosecution of Diana an administrative gang bang."

The class applauded.




Chapter 15


Now it was Diana's turn to ask questions of Ian.

"You told us that when you examined your SmurFF critiques
that some just `jumped out at you'. It would seem that had it
been up to you, quite a few SmurFFs would have been sent away
for analysis."

"No. All kinds of things were written that made me think that
something was wrong. I couldn't understand it but I didn't
go back through the old critiques and try to pick them out."

"But Randy did. Is that correct?"

"Yes. He told me he had found three SmurFFs among the
radiology critiques that he thought were in your handwriting."
Suddenly going from sober to smirk, Ian finished slyly,
"and he was right."

Ignoring the obvious baiting attempt, Diana continued.
"When you were referring to the critiques that jumped out at you,
I take it you meant all the SmurFFs--not just the ones in
evidence called `suspicious' critiques?" She indicated
the folders containing the material that had been sent to the
document examiners.

"I mean the actual student critiques. They basically have the
same kind of comments as those," replied Ian pointing to the folders.

"Then you don't agree that the reason these `suspicious'
critiques stood out was because they were so different?
Isn't that the reason you took them to Lyle?"

"Randy did that. I didn't go through all of them as he did,
but he showed me the ones he picked out and they were pretty much
the same as all the others--basically not good."

"Now which one of these critiques, these in the packet B,
are you saying were very detrimental and personally injurious
and caused you undue harm.?"

"I haven't read them. I'm talking about all the critiques in general."

"Then you are alleging that I wrote all the critiques?"

"No. A psychologist would find that a person would have to have
mental problems to sit down and write all the critiques like that.
What I'm saying is there is other evidence, probably intangible,
that a seed was planted in a student's mind, and that seed was
portrayed in some of the comments that they wrote on their own."

Still trying to get the question answered, Diana asked again,
this time reading from the memo from the dean. "The dean wrote
that I am, quote, `accused of creating fictitious student critiques
which were very detrimental and personally injurious to two junior
faculty members' unquote.

"So I am asking again, which one of these have you selected to . . ."

Oh, oh, Ian's in trouble thought Henry interrupting quickly with,
"Have you seen this memo, Ian?"

"No."

The chair handed a copy of the memo and the packet of `suspicious'
critiques to Ian saying, "He has not seen the memorandum you are
referring to." To himself, he said, come on Ian, get it together.
This is dangerous ground.

Ian read the memo and then looked at the critiques. "Well,
there are things in here. . .Randy's and my teaching effectiveness
down to 2 and yours up at 5. A comment that you are an
excellent lecturer. This one has to do with sexism. . .
I don't know about that.

"Now I haven't gone through these. These are things that
Randy found, things he pulled out and brought to my attention."

"When was this?" queried Diana

"Oh, I can't recall the exact date."

"According to this memo that you say you haven't seen, Lyle has written
that during the early part of last fall, you came to him with two critiques--
now, I assume he means three--does that. . ."

"That sounds reasonable, but I don't remember exactly what month it was."

"Was it before or after the problems that you had with publishers
regarding copyright infractions in the radiology course. . .
the year I was not in it?"

Henry felt as of he had been punched in the stomach and the gasp
of surprise escaping from his lips was audible to everyone in the room.
Before any of the panel could react, Trenchant held up her hand
in a gesture universally representing STOP. "Let him answer the question,"
she insisted.

My God, the bitch has pinned him and I can't think what to
do to stop this. Come on, Ian, deny knowing anything about what
she's asking. Think what you're saying. Henry started to sweat.

Ian seemed oblivious to the tense atmosphere. "Before or after?
Jeez, I don't remember."

"Was it right around that time, perhaps?"

"I really don't remember. The copyright infractions happened last fall--
actually during the first week of classes. So I don't remember for sure,
but I think Randy came to me after that with these SmurFFs."

Good lord, the asshole is admitting to plagiarism. Henry found
his tongue finally. "The reason we are here has to do with these
`suspect' evaluations and irrelevant matter should be left out,"
he protested with a warning look at Ian.

Interesting, thought Diana. It's OK to bring in anything
that is derogatory or even believed to be derogatory about me
and my casting spells on the students, but anything about their
admitted dishonesty is verboten. Beam me up, Scotty. . .

She turned her attention back to Ian. "Just a few more questions.
You have said that Randy picked these evaluations out, and I see
no date on them. Do you have any idea of the year they refer to?"

"I assume that they were the SmurFFs that he had received recently.
But I'm not sure. We just keep them all in one pile."

"Now, usually after the students have handed in their SmurFFs
is it not correct that you are given yours and the course critiques
and you keep them unless Lyle wants the secretaries to summarize
them for the dean?"

"Right."

"That is all I need to ask. Thank you."

There was a short break while Henry dismissed Ian and called
the panel into a whispering huddle with him. Looking up,
he addressed Janet and Diana, almost as an afterthought.
"You need not leave the room, we will be finished in a few minutes."

I've got to set these people straight after what has just gone down,
he thought. We're calling her next and they have to be warned
not to pursue red herrings.




Chapter 16


After the formalities of swearing in were completed, the `suspect'
evaluations were identified as being contained in packets called
exhibit 3 and 4 by the chair and Diana was asked if she wrote them.

Following her denial, Henry asked her why `they' would suggest
that she had. She answered that she had no idea. Damn her,
thought Henry. She won't rise to the bait.

Next, the chair turned to exhibit 5, which he identified as
some of the standards used by the document examiners.
Apparently, he had heard and taken note when Trenchant had made
a point of the fact that the so-called standards were copies.

"One is an original, here on top--the rest are copies."
Then he continued, obliquely, asking, "have you seen these before?"

"Since these exhibits were passed around and discussed yesterday,"
Trenchant answered, "I have seen something that appears like this.

"If you are asking if I wrote them, the answer is that I
couldn't say. The one original in the packet looks like my
signature but there is no date on it. I don't know when it was
written and do not recall writing it.

"These others show dates of a long time ago. We're in the
late eighties now and these are dated '61, '69. . ."

"We have some dated more current that the document examiners used.
I can send over to Mark's office for them."

"Oh, you have additional evidence that I was not given before the hearing?
Is that correct?"

"No. Well, I mean no one has looked at it. No one on this
committee either. This was handled between Mark and the document
examiners. I will call Mark right now and have him bring them over."

Henry left the hearing room and headed up the stairs to the witness
waiting room where Mark was standing by for just such emergencies.
You'd think we were the ones on trial, he grumbled to himself.
Why does she persist in this inane manner when I've got everything
so well planned out? "Mark, Trenchant's called us on the remaining
standards that you sent but that we decided not to include in the
material we gave her. Please go and get them and bring them to
the hearing room as soon as possible."

As the men descended the stairs, Mark to leave and Henry to return
to the hearing, Mark asked, "how did she find out about them, Henry?"

"She was making such a fuss about all the standards having dates
so far back that she couldn't identify them and the panel
apparently thinks this is a valid reason why she won't identify them.
I had to say the document examiners had more recent samples
of her handwriting or. . ." Henry broke off quickly as Helen
came out of the room used by Diana's witnesses at the foot of the stairs.

"Hi, guys," greeted Helen placidly. "How's it going? Are you on a break?"

Spare me these emancipated females, thought Henry as he angrily ignored her,
waived goodbye to Mark and reentered the hearing room.

Congenial old Mark, badly in need of a conversation fix
after Ian had left, approached Helen with a wide smile.
"No," he said to her, "Henry just had to step out for a minute
so he could tell me something he needed me to get for him.

"I'm on the way over to the admin building right now. You must
be one of the witness for Diana. Sure hope this isn't too traumatic
for you all. It really is a terrible thing to have happen at Belmont
and I'm sure that as much as you all must like Diana and want to help her
that as soon as you understand the preponderance of evidence against her,
you'll decide. . ." Strange woman, he thought, as Helen went back into
the waiting room and firmly closed the door. Oh well, I might as well
go over and get that stuff for Henry.

Inside the hearing room, Henry had ruled that they would go ahead
for now and introduce the material when it was brought over.

Continuing her challenge, Diana said, "I repeat again, this
is evidence, this is material that was sent to the document
examiners that I have not seen. Is that correct? Even though
you and Lyle have both assured me that I was given all the evidence?"

"Well, that only meant that you had all the material sent at that time.
This is additional information that the document examiners brought with them."

"Material that I was not privy to and had no opportunity to question
the document examiners on! I consider this most unfair."

Anuse smirked.

"Well," Henry replied, "you will see it presently so that's
all right. The committee may now ask additional questions."

Esther wanted to know what was going on in the department.
"We have heard from Lyle, Ian and Randy. What is your perception?"

Damn the woman, fumed Henry. I purposely warned her against asking
that kind of question. He turned his full attention on Diana's answer.

"I will confirm first that there were problems. When I was
in the course, I objected to using published material without
permission from the publisher and credit to the author.

"I also refused to allow them to use the manual I had
written and copyrighted, which they wanted to present to
the students as their own after they had added to it.

"I was ordered to do this by Lyle and when I refused,
I was threatened with a lawsuit and then told that
they would take what they wanted anyway.

"When I first wrote the manual, I offered it free of charge
to Ian for the course. He was delighted and most grateful
that I had undertaken the project. The manual was well accepted
by the students and was used in the course for two years.

"I had no objection to it being used the next year--
the year I was not in the course. But, I would not
allow them to revise it or steal it."

Diana Trenchant went on to explain that her manual was strictly
concerned with basic radiology information; information that would
prepare students for the more demanding courses in radiology therapy
that they would encounter the next year.

"One year, I audited those courses so that when I wrote the manual,
I could make sure that students would be well prepared for them.

"There was never any question that I supported the presentation of
experimental material in addition to the basics contained in the manual.
Actually what they proposed adding to the course was not new. We have
been doing this for several years, before Randy came to NERD,
using legitimate reference material obtained from publishers."

"Was there any connection between all this and the
alleged fictitious SmurFFs?" pursued Esther.

"It does seem rather strange to me that they suddenly
appeared at the time Ian and Randy were facing copyright
infringement charges--according to Ian's testimony.

Diana continued by telling the committee that there had been
no problems until Randy had come into the course. When she
worked with Ian, things went fine. They conferred and cooperated
with each other. Ian's evaluations gradually got better.

"After Randy came in, I was left out of the loop. He, Ian and Lyle
made decisions and I was not informed. For example, two years ago,
Randy was made co-director of the course with Ian. I was not told about it."

The door to the hearing room opened and Mark's head floated through
the opening. Ah good, thought Henry, just the kind of distraction
I need to stop this line of questioning. "We will now introduce
this material," he said as he got up to take the large brown envelope
Mark produced in the doorway. "The dates on these documents,
used as standards by the document examiners, are more recent."
Smugly, he handed copies of these documents to each of the
panel members and then to Diana, keeping one set for himself.

"These documents appear to be copies from personnel files,"
observed Diana, looking at the chair for confirmation.

"Yes," Henry confirmed. "They were taken from your personnel file
and sent by the university attorney to use as standards."

"Then I would like to see the release I signed so that this
material could be removed from my file," demanded Trenchant.

"Release? No release was necessary," Henry looked puzzled
and frowned with annoyance.

"Mr. Chairman, you have made note several times that
this termination hearing is justified by a certain paragraph
in the faculty handbook," Diana replied firmly. "In that
same handbook, there is a paragraph stating that no material shall
be removed from a faculty person's file without the permission of
that person. If you have a handbook here, I will find the exact
wording and read it to you."

"Oh, I know what you are referring to and that does not
apply in this case," Henry ruled quickly and then turned
to the panel and said, "We must get on with it. Are these
your handwriting?"

"I don't know. These are copies. Copies are suspicious."

Anuse interjected demanding to know why.

Diana explained to him that she had done a great deal of research,
since she had first been charged, into document examination.
Accomplished document examiners insist on original, authentic standards.
Except for a couple, all of these so-called standards are copies.
In addition, as you will recall from her answer to the questions
I asked her, the examiner you engaged admitted that she did not know
of her own knowledge that I had written the standards she used.

"A competent examiner would have the person in question write
the standards in his or her presence. That way the analyst
is unbiased, and can swear that the standards are authentic.

"I also learned that one should never identify copies as
one's writing because copies may be altered and recopied so the
alterations do not show."

"Now these came from the administration and you certainly
can't think that any alteration went on," scoffed Anuse.

"I certainly can think it's possible. Just as I know it's
possible to forge handwriting so even the experts cannot tell."

"No, that is incorrect. The analysts testified that
she could tell forgeries."

"She also testified that I had written these `suspect'
evaluations but admitted that she had not authenticated
the standards used nor insisted on original standards.

"As far as believing that tampering could be done, I remind
you that one of these `suspect' documents was tampered with
and Lyle admitted doing it."

"What!" blurted Henry, "what. . ."

"This one here." The accused held up the evaluation that
had a three word printed comment on the course. Stapled to it
was a note reading, `Lyle, have a happy Christmas, Diana'.

"This was given the document examiners as `suspect' evaluation #6,
yet clearly Lyle knew that he had prejudiced it by putting six
additional words on it that he knew I had written. This is
original writing on Christmas paper and not part of this evaluation,
yet from the report the examiners made, it was treated as part of a
`suspect' document."

Henry quickly told Janet that she could stop taking notes
while the committee huddled off the record. Feverishly, he
opened the analyst report and scanned the relevant paragraph.
After a few moments, Henry and Frank Anuse exchanged glances.
Anuse nodded and Henry told Janet they were back on record.
Immediately, Anuse sarcastically claimed that he didn't under
stand what all the fuss was about. He could see no tampering.

Trenchant explained again. "It is obvious. A known standard
is affixed to an unknown document. It is made a part of that
unknown document."

Anuse seemed to deliberately misunderstand. He continued
this over and over, taking different tacks but essentially
he was bent on wearing Diana down.

Careful, thought Henry. A court would say Anuse was
badgering the witness. Henry knew this was not proper
questioning, it was arguing, but he let it continue.

"Oh," Anuse would say in an annoying, baiting way, "it was not
altered since Lyle had stapled it there so it wouldn't get lost."
and "I don't understand where you have a problem with this."

After several minutes of this, he dismissed the whole complaint.
Scathingly, he said that it didn't matter since the whole document
had been written by Trenchant anyway. The document analyst had said so.

"Yes they had," Diana agreed. "Despite the fact that there
were three PRINTED words on the SmurFF. The WRITING they
identified was only on the slip of paper that Lyle had attached.

The panel was silent. Trenchant addressed them. "When I was
first charged with writing these critiques, I spoke to a few
professional document examiners. Right off, I discovered that
I could not afford to hire one to do an unbiased analysis.
However, they usually were willing to answer general questions
on the phone for a small consulting fee.

"In talking with them and reading the material they suggested to me,
I came away with some interesting information. None that I talked to
felt they were infallible or claimed that handwriting was as unique
as fingerprints, but they enjoyed the benefits of that illusion.

"Both tape recordings and polygraph (lie detector) evidence
is not allowed in courts. The so-called expert testimony of
doctors, psychiatrists, as well as various technical expertise
such as fingerprint and document analysis is. Deus ex machina
is evidently not looked highly upon by judges, possibly because
they allow no other gods before them in their courtrooms.

"Court certification of a document examiner means that the
court has accepted their training and experience. This is seldom
checked and is fairly loosely defined by the profession itself.
It does not indicate a perfect batting average for the examiner.

"Most analysts that I contacted said that if they were hired
in this case, they would want to examine all of the critiques--
not just the handful picked out by NERD. There is always the chance
of there being another individual with similar handwriting
in that many samples.

"They admitted there were people capable of forging the handwriting
of another person. They directed me to check out the literature
on the Hitler Diaries and the more recent White Salamander Papers.
What these two cases had in common was that the best, most expert
document examiners in the world were fooled. Because these were
sensational cases, they were highly publicized. Most forgeries
get little or no attention from the media but the fact remains
that a good forger can fool highly qualified document examiners.

"Oh, yes. There is one more thing I want to question here
since most of the documents you have listed as so-called standards
are copies. These copies are mostly memos addressed to people
in the department. If they are authentic, why aren't they originals?
If I had written and sent those, it would have been the originals--
if I'd made a copy it would have been kept for my files."

My God, Henry screamed to himself, why do I let her go on
with this? Well, of course, it's because those women are
listening and look interested so I don't dare cut her own
testimony off too often. They were not happy with the way Frank
was badgering her and I didn't want to alienate them any further.
Aloud, he said, "Does the panel have any more questions?"
Getting no response, the chair called a short recess.


When Diana entered the waiting room, her witnesses gathered around,
full of support and questions. "All in all, it went pretty well,"
she told them. "The real victory was getting out of there without
throttling Frank Anuse. He asks question after question always
discounting your answer. He doesn't come right out and say
you're lying but it is implied in his manner.

"The rest of the panel aren't bad. Esther gets a little mixed up
in what she wants to say at times and is a bit hard to understand,
but she appears to be trying to be fair. I think the other two
women on the panel are more sympathetic toward me now.

"It isn't much fun, but you shouldn't be in there very long,
so that's some compensation."

"They were at you for a long time," Sarah's voice quavered
ever so slightly.

"Yes, but I'm their designated criminal. I really don't think
they will treat you badly, but if they do, get up and walk out.
I mean that, it goes for all of you," Trenchant said firmly.

"There's the summons. Go in there and give 'em hell, Andrea.
It's party time," said Helen, patting them both on the back
as they left for the hearing room.




Chapter 17


Andrea Stern was barely sworn when Esther demanded,
"are you a medical student?"

Then, suddenly realizing that she had spoken out of turn
since it was Diana's prerogative to question her witnesses first,
she apologized.

Trenchant immediately asked Andrea to give her name and
occupation for the record. Replying to further questions,
Andrea testified that she had known Diana for many years
and had rented a room in her house for six of them.
She attested to the overall integrity of Trenchant.
Boldly, mincing no words, she fixed the panel with
a friendly smile and continued.

"I think these charges are ludicrous, for two reasons.
One is that when Diana Trenchant has a problem with someone,
she marches right up and tells them. She is very forthright
and would not do anything devious or underhanded. The second reason
is that she has always had a high opinion of academic honesty."

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