A Matter of Life and Death Phillip Margolin (novels to read in english .TXT) 📖

Hennessey strutted over to the witness-box and stared at Erika for a moment before beginning to question her. Erika tried to look Hennessey in the eye, but she broke eye contact. Hennessey smiled at this minor victory.

“Now, Mr. Stassen, didn’t Officer Balske tell you that he had paid fifty dollars for oral sex?”

“Yes.”

“And the next thing you did was invite him into the alley next to the parking lot, right?”

“Yes.”

“When he agreed, you expected him to give you fifty dollars, didn’t you?”

“No. I didn’t ask him for money.”

“You claim that you went to the Gold Piece because you wanted to see if you would be accepted as a woman. Right?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t getting paid by a man for sex make you feel that Officer Balske saw you as a woman?”

“I told you, I wasn’t interested in the money. I have a good job. It pays well. I didn’t think about the fifty dollars. It wasn’t important.”

Hennessey pounced. “But your job is important, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“And you could lose your job if you’re convicted of a crime, right?”

“I … Yes, that could happen.”

“And you would do anything to keep that job, wouldn’t you, including lying to this jury?”

Hennessey made a dramatic about-face and walked back to his seat as Erika stuttered her denial.

“Ms. Lockwood?” the judge asked.

“Nothing further.”

Erika walked back to her seat at the counsel table with her head down, looking like a convict on the way to the electric chair.

“I feel sick,” she said.

“You shouldn’t,” Robin said. “Hennessey just won the case for us.”

“How can you say that? He made me look like a liar.”

“No, Erika, he just told the jury that you would be fired if they convicted you, and that created more sympathy for your cause than anything I could say.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Do you have any more witnesses, Ms. Lockwood?” Judge Carasco asked.

“Yes, Your Honor. We call Dr. Margery Langford.”

As soon as the witness was sworn, Robin asked, “Dr. Langford, can you please give the jurors a summary of your educational background?”

“Certainly,” Langford said before turning toward the jurors and smiling. “I received my bachelor of science in biology, with a minor in psychology, from Oregon State University. I received a doctorate in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. Then I participated in the postdoctoral program at the Veterans Administration in Portland, where I specialized in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“Thank you. At some point, did you develop an interest in helping men and women with gender identity problems?”

“I did.”

“When did that happen?”

“I’d had a few patients at the VA who were experiencing gender confusion, so I started researching the area. Near the end of my stay at the VA, I saw an ad for a psychologist that had been posted by the Transgender Health Program at the Oregon Health & Science University. I applied and was hired.”

“Do you know Eric Stassen?”

“I do, and I prefer to refer to her as Erika for professional reasons.”

“Can you explain your decision to the jurors?”

“Erika was born male and was named Eric, but he never felt comfortable as a male. It was very difficult for him to make the decision to change his gender expression. Once he did, he began referring to himself as a woman, and he has taken many difficult steps to get to the point of physically and psychologically becoming a woman.”

“Can you tell the jury about those difficult steps?”

“I can.” Dr. Langford turned to the jurors. “One step was coming out to his parents, friends, and coworkers. You can imagine how embarrassing and anxiety producing that was. Then Erika worked with me and the team at OHSU and began her gender transition during a two-year period. During this time, Erika dressed as a woman at work, at social gatherings, went grocery shopping dressed as a woman, and had to endure some pointed questions and a lot of abuse associated with this.

“Erika also underwent hormone replacement therapy, therapy to change her voice, and experienced laser hair removal, which is painful, lengthy, and expensive. After going through all that, I feel Eric has earned the right to be called Erika.”

“What are the final steps a man takes when he transitions into being a female?”

“He may undergo thyroid cartilage reduction surgery to reduce the size of his Adam’s apple, undergo breast implants, and endure face feminization surgery. Finally, Erika is planning to undergo a surgical procedure called a vaginoplasty that will remove his male genitalia and create female genitals. As you can imagine, this is expensive and not a lot of fun.”

“Thank you, Dr. Langford. Now, are you aware that Erika had been charged with committing the crime of prostitution, which requires the State to prove that she offered to engage in sex with the arresting officer for money?”

Hennessey stood up. “Despite your ruling, Your Honor, Ms. Lockwood is continuing to refer to the defendant as a female. I object and ask the court to instruct the witness and counsel to follow your prior ruling.”

“Mr. Hennessey,” the judge said, “in light of Dr. Langford’s testimony, I am going to reverse my ruling and allow counsel and her witness to refer to the defendant with a feminine pronoun.”

Hennessey started to argue. Then he thought better of it and sat down.

Robin was surprised by Carasco’s ruling, but she didn’t show her feelings. Instead, she repeated the question, and Dr. Langford said she was aware of the charge.

“How long have you treated Erika?”

“It’s been three years.”

“How many times a week do you and she talk?”

“Three scheduled meetings, but she calls whenever she needs my help.”

“You’ve heard Erika testify that she had no interest in receiving money when she volunteered to engage in sex with Officer Balske. In your expert opinion as a professional who treats men who are transitioning to being female, and as someone who has worked closely with Erika, does that sound reasonable?”

“Definitely. Any transsexual wants to have his or her gender expression validated, and one of the best ways to do this is to have a