44

Russo watched Dr. Brown a moment. She stepped to the side of the lectern and put one elbow on it, relaxed. She looked like she was with friends describing some interesting story rather than in court.

“You talked about your time as a clinician. Please describe what a clinician does.”

“That’s a loaded question, it’s massively broad.”

“But in general they practice the art and craft they’re trained in. In other words, dealing with patients.”

“That is a large part of it, yes.”

“You said you taught for a time, but it wasn’t just a time. You taught for over twenty years.”

“That is correct.”

“You were involved in a lot of research.”

“I was, yes. As most academics are.”

“In fact, you completed no less than eighty massive research papers during your time as an academic, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“So of the thirty or so years you’ve been a licensed physician, two-thirds of that time was spent in academia and research, correct?”

“Correct.”

“You don’t see patients when doing research, do you?”

“Some doctors still continue to see patients.”

“Some, but not you. You were locked in the ivory tower for those years, were you not, Doctor?”

The doctor paused. A professional witness paused frequently because they knew their emotions could influence their response.

“I did not see any patients during the time, as I was focused exclusively on research and teaching.”

She stepped away from the lectern and began pacing in the well, the area of the floor between the audience and the judge’s bench. The bailiffs shot her nervous glances, unaccustomed to someone approaching the judge without asking permission. “What is your specialty, Doctor?”

“I have expertise in diseases of—”

“No, no, not your self-proclaimed field of expertise, I mean what type of medicine did you complete your residency in?”

He glanced to Lounger and said, “Geriatric psychiatry.”

“Geriatric? As in elderly?”

“Correct.”

“How old is Mr. Whittaker?”

He glanced at Owen, who remained seated with his eyes down. Owen didn’t move, react, or do much of anything except breathe and blink.

“Twenty-nine.”

“Twenty-nine. So based on your specialty training, he might as well be six years old, and you would understand him just about as well, correct?”

Piper’s gaze shifted to Owen Whittaker. He stared intently at the table, appearing either unaware of or indifferent to the proceedings unfolding around him.

“Objection,” Lounger said as he rose to his feet.

“Withdrawn,” Russo quickly said. “I’d like to talk about your published works. Now, you have thirty-six noted publications in what would be considered the more prestigious psychiatric journals, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Of the thirty-six, you describe fifty-two patients in those works, correct?”

“That is correct.”

“Of those fifty-two, you have diagnosed exactly thirty-six as either schizophrenic or schizoaffective, is that correct?”

“I have, yes.”

“That’s almost seventy percent. How prevalent are those two disorders in the general population?”

He cleared his throat. “About one percent of the population suffers from these disorders.”

“One percent? And you diagnose it seventy percent of the time, is that right?”

“Yes, but the pool of patients that I gather from includes—”

“Thank you, Doctor, you answered my question.”

Dr. Brown grew frustrated and looked to the judge and said, “I’d like to answer that more fully, Your Honor.”

“Go ahead.”

“The patients that are sent to me are the most disturbed in our criminal justice system. They’re the most likely to have these disorders given the extreme nature of their crimes. So it’s a loaded question to say that I diagnose my patients with schizo disorders the majority of the time.”

“You’ve mentioned that phrase before. A loaded question . You’ve accused me of that twice. Define loaded question, please?”

“It’s a question that contains its own answer within the question. It leads to misleading answers.”

“Misleading? Interesting. Please tell me how I have misled this court.”

“That’s not what—”

“Misleading—that was your word, Dr. Brown. Not mine. Please explain to this court how I have misled you.”

The question flustered Dr. Brown. A flustered witness was a careless witness.

“Perhaps misled was too strong a word,” he finally said.

Russo smiled, but it had the predatory edge of someone who had drawn first blood. “What word fits, then? It leads to unfair answers?”

“Yes. I suppose that works.”

“What answers have you given that are unfair?”

“That’s not what I’m—”

“I’d like to talk about Dale Rogers, Dr. Brown. Who is Dale Rogers?”

The way she abruptly interrupted him and shifted topics whenever Dr. Brown tried to explain one of his answers impressed Piper. Unfortunately, Piper realized, feeling impressed only meant Owen Whittaker was edging closer to being transferred to a minimum-security hospital.

Dr. Brown was clearly articulate, insightful, and intelligent, but when his status was challenged, he got hurt and angry like everyone else.

“That information is protected by doctor-patient privilege.”

Russo looked to the judge. “Your Honor, it’s a closed courtroom and the good doctor’s credentials are at issue. Please order the witness to break confidentiality for the purposes of this hearing.”

Judge Billings said, “So ordered. Dr. Brown, you may answer.”

Dr. Brown paused a moment. “I cannot.”

“I’m asking you to answer, Doctor.”

“I understand, Your Honor, but it would be unethical for me to break that privilege.”

Kyle Lounger appeared panicked; he was losing control of the hearing and knew it. Russo leaned against the defense table and let the growing agitation of the judge toward Dr. Brown cook.

Lounger rose and said, “Your Honor, perhaps a moment to consult with my witness is in order.”

The judge fixed his gaze on the doctor and said, “Doctor, when you return to this courtroom, I expect an answer to this question and any others I advise you to answer. Otherwise, we will need to consider our next steps.” He glanced at Russo and announced, “We’ll take a ten-minute recess.”

As the judge left the courtroom, Lounger and Dr. Brown quickly retreated to the attorney-client room in the adjacent hallway.

Owen’s eyes rose, and he turned his head and stared at Piper.

Russo noticed who he was looking at and acknowledged Piper for the first time. “You’re the guardian?”

“I am.”

“What’s your take on all this?”

“Just waiting to see how it plays out.”

“Then try not to forget there’s a human being on this side of the room, too.”

A few minutes later, Lounger and Dr. Brown came back in. The judge was called and asked what would be happening. Lounger rose and said, “Dr. Brown will be continuing.”

“Dr. Brown, please take the stand and remember you are still under oath.”

The doctor sat back up on the stand and held his head a little higher as though to compensate.

“Dr. Brown,” Russo said as she stood in front of the lectern with her arms folded, “Who is Dale Rogers?”

“He was a patient of mine in Utah.”

“Assigned to you by the district court there, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You received a disciplinary letter from the state medical board in relation to Mr. Rogers, correct?”

“It was a complicated issue, but yes I did. I revealed some information about his case to a party that should not have been privy to that information. I took full responsibility and took care of the professional reprimand.”

“You told a friend about Dale’s case, and this friend told his buddy, who wrote for a newspaper, isn’t that right?”

He hesitated. “Yes.”

“And what you said appeared in the paper, didn’t it?”

The doctor didn’t answer right away, and Russo said, “We need an audible answer, Doctor. That’s what the microphones are for.”

“Yes, what I said appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune .”

“Mr. Rogers lost his job because of it?”

The doctor hesitated, his voice lacking its earlier certainty. “He did.”

“His wife took their children and left him shortly after that.”

“I believe so.”

“And then he bought several bottles of vodka, checked into a motel room, and drank himself to death ... because of what you did?”

Dr. Brown didn’t answer. Lounger sat silently.

Russo looked to the judge.

“Your Honor, we would vehemently object to Dr. Brown being qualified as a forensic psychiatric expert in this matter. We object on the grounds that Dr. Brown’s time as a clinician primarily involved research and not patient care. Further, Dr. Brown’s specialty within psychiatry is geriatric psychiatry. The defendant is a twenty-nine-year-old young man. This significant discrepancy in age groups, each with unique mental health attributes, renders Dr. Brown’s specialization less relevant and potentially misleading.

“Dr. Brown’s credentials primarily involve teaching and academics, rather than practicing psychiatry in a clinical setting. This will hinder his ability to provide a thorough and applicable evaluation of the defendant’s mental state. Also, Dr. Brown has previously demonstrated a significant bias in his assessments, favoring certain diagnoses over others. This pattern, which is well documented in his published works, casts doubt on the impartiality of his expert testimony.”

Lounger rose. “Your Honor, I would object to Ms.—”

She cut him off. “I’m not finished,” she said, her gaze sharp. Lounger stumbled, his face reddening.

Judge Billings intervened. “Mr. Lounger, let her finish.”

Lounger sat, visibly unsettled.

Russo turned back to the judge. “And lastly, Your Honor, we object since Dr. Brown’s recent professional disciplinary action for failure to maintain patient confidentiality may indicate a lack of ethical standards in his practice. This could potentially undermine the trustworthiness of his assessment. We would ask for an opportunity to brief the matter.”

Lounger was on his feet. “Your Honor, this is a time-wasting tactic to—”

“Pick a real expert and we wouldn’t have to waste time—”

“—aggravate the prosecution,” Lounger continued as though Russo hadn’t said anything. “Dr. Brown is the foremost expert in this field. He has testified in every higher court in several jurisdictions and is a frequent contributor to television and radio programs that deal with—”

“He’s a TV star, so we should take his credentials seriously? Is that what you’re arguing? ’Cause no offense to the doctor, but I can find much better-looking television stars to come in and entertain us.”

Piper saw the judge quickly suppress a grin.

Lounger’s anger flushed his face pink. “He’s a recognized expert I’ve used dozens of times and never once has a court found him lacking in—”

“He’s a charlatan.”

“Your Honor! I find Ms. Bianchi’s behavior unbecoming and would ask that she be instructed to follow decorum.”

Piper knew that when an attorney argued about decorum, they had already lost whatever point they were trying to make. They’re being mean wasn’t an argument judges liked to hear.

Judge Billings held up his hand and said, “The defense has requested to brief this matter, and I am granting their request. Please have your briefs filed by next Friday the eleventh, and any replies by the fourteenth. Oral arguments will be scheduled for the following Monday. That concludes today’s proceedings. Court is adjourned.”