Chapter Seventeen
By the time court resumes after lunch, the video screen has been retracted, the audiovisual equipment stowed, and the courtroom returned to normal. Campbell is beginning with his next witness.
“Dr. Tillman, your Ph.D. is in what field?”
“In chemistry.”
“And your Ph. D. thesis was on what subject?”
“It was entitled, ‘Susceptibility to Human Error in Antibody Testing.”
“And you worked in a laboratory that did antibody testing?”
“Actually, our lab is what is called a reference laboratory.”
“Which is?”
“It’s a laboratory that, among other things, receives specimens from other labs to cross-check their results. It’s staffed with only the highest qualified lab technicians.”
“And your job at the lab?”
“I focused mainly on quality control within our own lab, making sure that the results we sent back were indeed correct as far as humanly possible.”
Campbell liked this man personally the first time they met. He seemed to have an honesty and integrity about him that was not so easy to find these days. It had taken a while to locate just the right witness for this part of the trial, but Campbell was glad he had kept searching.
“And do you still work there today, Dr. Tillman?”
“No, I don’t. I quit.”
“Why?”
“Because of what I found out about the HIV tests we were processing.”
“And that was?”
“That there was no standardization or reproducibility with any of the tests, and yet people were being told they were HIV-Positive anyway.”
That was what was so special about Tillman: he cared about people, not just the science. It was obvious he simply couldn’t stand to be part of a system that was taking people’s lives so needlessly. I hope the jury can see this man’s heart as well as hear what he has to say, Campbell thought.
“Can you give us a specific example of what you mean?”
“Actually, I can give you quite a few. But let’s start with one that happened at the lab where I worked. The same blood sample was sent to us forty-four different times over the course of several months. We didn’t know it was the same blood sample, mind you, so there was nothing to do other than to treat it each time like any other blood sample we received. And remember that we were a reference laboratory and were supposed to be the best and the brightest in the business. However, we got a wide range of test results on these forty-four samples.”
“In fact, we have a chart of those results I’d like to show you.” Campbell hands a transparency to the witness, who examines it carefully while Campbell lowers the screen again and a technician rolls out an overhead projector. When the transparency has made its rounds to the judge and the Solicitor, Campbell projects it on the screen for the jury and the witness to see.
Are You Positive? Page 24