Conscious Bias

by Alexi Venice

  “Okay, Mr. Halliday, proceed with your questioning,” Judge O’Brien said once the jury was out of the room.

  Halliday handed the note to Dr. King. “I’ve given you what’s been marked as Exhibit 38, a nursing note regarding Mr. Seif. Have you seen that note before?”

  “Yes,” Dr. King said.

  “When?”

  “I relied on the note while I was caring for Mr. Seif, and I printed it yesterday.”

  “At my request?” Halliday said.

  “Yes.”

  “What does the note say?”

  “It says, ‘Patient was found on the floor outside the bathroom. His IV is still intact. Helped back to bed. Denies any pain.’”

  “Object, Your Honor. Hearsay,” Dominique said.

  Judge O’Brien looked at Halliday.

  “The witness relied on the statement in the note to do his job, Your Honor,” Halliday said.

  Judge O’Brien looked at Dominique. “Overruled.”

  “What time was that note entered?” Halliday asked.

  “It was entered at 0123 on Monday, so the middle of the night.”

  “Who entered it?”

  “Nurse Julia Frank.”

  “Were you made aware that Mr. Seif was found on the floor when you started your shift on Monday morning?”

  “I read the note on my seven-am-rounds on Monday morning, yes.”

  “What, if anything, did you do when you saw the note?”

  “I asked Mr. Seif how he felt and conducted my standard exam.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He was groggy, but responded appropriately for someone on pain relievers.”

  “Did you talk to Nurse Frank about the note?”

  “No. I didn’t get a chance to because she’s on the night shift and had left already,” Dr. King said.

  “Based on Dr. King’s testimony, I move the note into evidence,” Halliday said.

  “I object based on hearsay and lack of foundation, Your Honor,” Dominique said. “Only the nurse who wrote it can authenticate it. This note is not part of the medical record that was certified by the hospital when we subpoenaed the record.”

  Judge O’Brien looked at Halliday.

  “The doctor authenticated the note as something he saw and relied on in his job when he took care of Abdul Seif. He already testified that he printed the note. I can’t help it if the hospital didn’t produce the note,” Halliday said.

  “I’ll give counsel 30 minutes to discuss the note to see if you can come to a stipulation regarding it. After the break, I’ll hear your positions again. Court will stand in recess for 30 minutes.” The judge slammed his gavel, stood and exited quickly.

  Dominique grabbed the note from Halliday and took a photo of it. They exchanged a few words, and she walked away from him. She cast a stern glance at Monica, and tipped up her chin, signaling Monica to follow.

  Monica scooted out of her row and followed Dominique out of the courtroom, a few paces behind, all the way down the long corridor to the DA’s Office. Dominique scanned them in the locked door and proceeded to her office, crammed with furniture and piled high with files.

  “Can you contact Nurse Julia Frank at the hospital and ask her if she wrote this note?” Dominique asked, her face tight with anger.

  “I can try. Will you email it to me?”

  “Doing that right now,” Dominique said. “You can stay and use my office. I’m going to the ladies’ room.”

  While Dominique was gone, Monica got Al Bowman on the phone, who told her he’d contact the CCU Director to get Julia Frank’s contact information. He called Monica back as Dominique returned, providing Monica with Julia Frank’s cell phone number.

  “If King forged a nursing note, he’s fired,” Al said.

  “I’ll let you know one way or the other,” Monica said.

  Monica dialed Nurse Frank’s number and introduced Dominique and herself when Julia answered. She put Julia on speaker phone.

  “The Abdul Seif murder trial is going on, and Dr. King testified that you wrote in a note that you found Mr. Seif on the floor. Do you recall creating that note?”

  “What?” Nurse Frank asked. “No. I didn’t write that. I never saw Abdul Seif on the floor.”

  Dominique squinted at Monica.

  “Just so we’re clear,” Monica said, “Did you see Abdul fall or see him on the floor at any time during his hospital stay?” Monica asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Nurse Frank said.

  “I’m texting you a photo of this note. Will you look at it and tell me if you entered it in in the electronic medical record?” Monica asked.

  “Sure, but I’m telling you right now that I didn’t.”

  Monica texted, and she and Dominique waited for Nurse Frank to receive the text and look at the note.

  Monica could feel Dominique’s anger rising with each second.

  “I got it. I’m looking at it now, and I can tell you that I never created this note,” Nurse Frank said.

  “Would you be willing to testify to that?” Monica asked.

  “If you need me to. Someone obviously entered the electronic medical record under my name and forged this note.”

  Monica raised her eyebrow at Dominique.

  “We might need her. We’ll know after I tell the judge about it,” Dominique whispered.

  “Can you be on standby to testify, Nurse Frank?” Monica asked.

  “Sure. I was about to leave for work anyway,” Nurse Frank said.

  “Thanks. Watch your phone for a text from me. If we need you, we’ll talk about the details later. Thanks.” Monica hung up.

  “Dr. King forged the note,” Dominique said. “I’m going to charge that fucker with perjury and obstruction of justice.”

  “Do what you need to,” Monica said. “I don’t represent him. I represent the hospital. You heard Al. He’s going to fire Dr. King if he forged the note.”

  “I’m going back to court and giving Halliday an ass-chewing,” Dominique said, her lips compressing into a thin line.

  “The McKnights will stop at nothing,” Monica said. “They hired someone to run me off the road today.”

  “What?”

  Monica gave Dominique an abridged version of the story.

  “Well, file a report with Matt, so he can find the driver,” Dominique said, as they left her office.

  When they returned to the courtroom, Monica found her seat and watched Dominique talk to Halliday, waving the paper in the air and yelling in a whisper-voice.

  He appeared dumbstruck, occasionally glancing at Dr. King, who was sitting rigidly in the witness chair, a numb look on his face.

  Judge O’Brien returned and took his seat. “Counsel, did we reach an agreement?”

  Dominique didn’t waste any time. “Your Honor, I established during the break that this note is fabricated. I spoke directly to the nurse named on the note and showed her a photo of it. She denies creating it. She also said that Mr. Seif never fell in the hospital.”

  Halliday raised his hands. “I had no idea, Your Honor.”

  Judge O’Brien slowly swiveled his head to appraise Dr. King. “Did you create this note, doctor?”

  King remained silent, but his eyes darted from Judge O’Brien to Halliday, and back again.

  “Answer my question, or I’ll hold you in contempt,” Judge O’Brien said.

  “Ah…well…I…”

  “Yes or No?” Judge O’Brien asked.

  “Ah…yes,” King said.

  There was a collective gasp in the courtroom, followed by hushed chatter.

  Judge O’Brien closed his eyes and pinched his nose above his half-glasses. “Dr. King, I find you in contempt of court for committing perjury and obstruction of justice. I hereby fine you $10,000 and order you to serve 30 days in jail.”

  Monica’s jaw dropped.

  “But, you can’t do that!” Dr. King blurted.

  “I can, and I have,” Judge O’Brien said. “When you
finish your testimony, I direct the bailiffs to take you into custody outside the courtroom.” The judge turned to the lead bailiff. “I don’t want the jury to see that Dr. King is being taken into custody.”

  The bailiff nodded.

  Dr. King’s forehead beaded in sweat, and he looked around the courtroom like a caged animal, his gaze resting on Halliday, silently imploring him for help.

  Halliday turned his back to King and pretended to dig for something in a banker’s box.

  Monica thought King was going to make a run for it, but he remained sitting.

  “I obviously have no more questions for this witness,” Halliday said when he turned back to face the judge.

  “I have some questions for you, Mr. Halliday,” Judge O’Brien said. “How much did you know about this note?”

  “Nothing, Your Honor. I swear.” Halliday held up his right hand, as if taking the oath.

  “If I find out anything to the contrary, you’ll be sharing a cell with Dr. King,” Judge O’Brien said.

  Halliday gulped and nodded.

  Judge O’Brien shook his head then turned his attention to Dominique. “Does the prosecution wish to conduct a cross-examination of Dr. King?”

  “Yes, Your Honor. I believe Dr. King last testified to the jury that a nursing note indicated Mr. Seif had fallen. I need to correct that and ask a few more questions,” Dominique said, still holding the note.

  “Very well,” Judge O’Brien said. “Let’s bring the jury back in, and resume Dr. King’s testimony. The witness will not maintain that lie in front of the jury, understood?”

  Dr. King nodded at the judge, clearly in shock over his fine and imminent incarceration.

  Once the jury was seated again, Dominique exhaled and smoothed the front of her suit before standing. Keeping her eyes on Dr. King, she took the podium, not bothering to bring a notepad with her. For this cross-examination, she didn’t need an outline. She simply needed to control her fury.

  “You last testified that you thought a nursing note indicated that Mr. Seif was found on the floor of his patient room, correct?”

  Dr. King quickly looked at the judge before answering. “Ah, yes.”

  “But you were mistaken, weren’t you Dr. King?”

  “Yes. I got confused. There wasn’t a nursing note that Mr. Seif fell in his room. In fact, I have no information that he fell at all. There wasn’t a fall in the hospital…” Dr. King looked like he didn’t know how to end his answer.

  “As far as you know, the only time Mr. Seif fell was when Trevor McKnight punched him, correct?”

  “Yes. That’s correct,” Dr. King said, his voice shaking.

  “And, Mr. Seif’s nose was broken from that punch, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  Dr. King had suddenly become a cooperative, even pliable, witness, so Dominique leveraged her advantage.

  “Where do you live, Dr. King?”

  “In Apple Grove.”

  “At what address?” she asked.

  “1264 Elm Court.”

  “Who are your neighbors?” she asked.

  “I have several,” he said.

  “Are David and Carol McKnight your neighbors?” she asked equably.

  “They live two doors down. Yes,” he said.

  “How many years have they been your neighbors?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe fifteen.”

  “Do you socialize with the McKnights?”

  “Occasionally.”

  “Do you golf weekly during the summer with David McKnight?”

  “Yes. We’re in the same league.”

  “Do you golf in the same foursome?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you watch Trevor McKnight grow up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have children?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Did Trevor McKnight play with your children?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did he spend time in your house?”

  “Yes.”

  “Eat dinner at your table?”

  “I suppose,” King said, the wind knocked from him. “Yes.”

  “No further questions,” Dominique said. Never one to overdo it, she turned from the podium and strode back to counsel table.

  “Any redirect?” Judge O’Brien asked of Halliday.

  “None, Your Honor,” Halliday wisely said.

  Dr. King stepped down from the witness box, his face pink, and his body rigid with anger, or fear, or sheer disbelief. Monica couldn’t tell. He glared at Dominique as he walked by her on his way to the door. Monica almost laughed aloud. That man has no situational awareness, she thought.

  Two bailiffs fell in step behind King as he reached the double doors and pushed through. The jury didn’t notice, but Monica saw the bailiffs grab Dr. King’s arms right before the doors closed. She couldn’t believe his testimony ended with him going to jail. She would call Al Bowman at the next break. The media had heard the entire exchange, so Monica expected them to report that King was headed for jail.

  “You may proceed with your next witness,” Judge O’Brien said to Halliday.

  “The defense calls Trevor McKnight,” Halliday said.

  The air crackled with anticipation. The young McKnight, dressed in a grey suit with a shirt two sizes too big to accommodate the electric belt, walked over to the court clerk for the oath.

  After being sworn, he shuffled to the witness box, his shoulders rounded. Once seated and facing the gallery, the arrogant hostility that had been present in McKnight’s mug shot upon arrest was now replaced by a horrific expression laden with fear. Monica could feel his anxiety from 30 feet away.

  “Please state your name for the record,” Halliday said.

  “Trevor David McKnight.”

  “Where do you live?”

  “Apple Grove.”

  “What do you do in Apple Grove?”

  “I go to school at the university.”

  “What year are you?”

  “I’m a junior.”

  “What’s your major?”

  “Business management.”

  “What are your plans after graduation?”

  “To go into the construction business with my dad.”

  “Are your parents in the courtroom today?”

  “Yeah,” McKnight said, pointing. The jury briefly glanced in the McKnight family’s direction. The few jurors who didn’t already know the McKnights had probably deduced who they were during the trial.

  “Very well,” Halliday said. “I’d like to turn your attention to the night you met Mr. Abdul Seif in The Night Owl bar.”

  “Okay.”

  “Tell us about your first encounter. What led you to Mr. Seif?”

  “He was harassing a few girls from one of my classes.”

  “Where were you?”

  “Standing close by at a pool table.”

  “How could you tell he was ‘harassing them?’”

  “I could tell from the looks on their faces, and the way he was weaving into them.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I went over and politely asked him to back off, but he didn’t,” McKnight said.

  “Then what did you do?”

  “I became more insistent. Sometimes, with drunk guys, you have to insult them to get their attention.”

  “Is that why you told him to go home to his Islamic girls?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t mean it literally. I was only trying to shock him to get his attention…get through his drunken stupor, you know?”

  “Then did he shove you?” Halliday asked.

  “Objection, leading,” Dominique said.

  “Sustained,” Judge O’Brien said.

  Halliday retreated. “Then what happened?”

  “Abdul pushed me, so I pushed him back. He stumbled backward into a post, then came rushing at me. I jumped to the side, and he went past me, to the bar.”

  “He came running at you?” Halliday asked.
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  “Yeah,” McKnight said. “I guess I should say he ‘lunged.’ He lunged at me, but he was slow and uncoordinated.”

  “Did you view that as a threat?”

  “Hell, yes,” McKnight said.

  “Have you encountered behavior like that before?”

  “Yeah. Guys will do that in a bar when they’re ready to fight.”

  “Did you consider Mr. Seif ready to fight?”

  “Obviously,” McKnight said. “He came at me.”

  “What happened next?” Halliday asked.

  “Well, I didn’t want to get in a bar fight in front of the girls, or risk breaking something in the bar, so I asked Seif to move our disagreement outside.”

  “Did he?”

  “Yeah. I know the video looks like I grabbed his arm, but I was barely touching him. He followed me outside, ready to fight.”

  “What happened when you stepped outside the bar?” Halliday asked.

  “You can’t see it on the video,” McKnight said, “but Seif took a swing at me as soon as the door closed, so I swung back and connected with his face, sending him to the sidewalk.”

  Monica was astonished. She was sure that McKnight’s version—that Abdul swung first—was fabricated for the benefit of his defense. God, it must be hard to be Dominique, listening to a blatant lie.

  “You didn’t tell Officer Petersen that Seif swung first when you were in the ER,” Halliday said, attempting to steal Dominique’s thunder.

  “I was drunk in the ED, so I glossed over a few things,” Trevor said.

  “Why didn’t you stay outside and attend to Mr. Seif?”

  “I didn’t know he was hurt that bad. Guys go down like that all the time in bar fights. They usually rest for a few minutes and get back up.”

  “Did you intend to injure Mr. Seif?” Halliday asked.

  “Not really,” Trevor said. “As a guy, we settle disagreements sometimes by hitting each other. It’s what we do. My hitting him had nothing to do with him being from Saudi Arabia or Muslim, or even me wanting to hurt him. I’m not biased.”

  “Thank you,” Halliday said quickly, cutting off Trevor. “Nothing further, Your Honor.”

  Dominique whispered into her legal assistant’s ear, who nodded and turned around to run her fingers through the files in a banker’s box behind her. In a matter of seconds, she came up with a slim, beige folder that couldn’t have contained more than a page or two of paper—the most lethal kind.