Page 135 of Precise Justice

“Your honor,” Hughes stood to dissent, “we believe it is important for the jury to be told this, firsthand, from the witness himself…”

Marc, still standing, “Since it’s Friday afternoon, your Honor, to help move things along, I’ll have copies made for all twelve jurors and the alternates.”

Judge Foster knew exactly what the two lawyers were up to. He did not care to listen to the three page CV being read either.

Siding with Marc, he said, “I agree, but I don’t think we need individual copies. Mr. Hughes, mark it and put it into evidence.”

“Yes, your Honor,” a chastened Hughes said.

Without the CV to awe the jury, Hughes was left with MacArthur’s time spent with Robbie. MacArthur had been given the session notes of Dr. Lorraine Butler, a local psychiatrist. She had been counseling Robbie for months. Their sessions totaled over twenty hours.

MacArther was also given a video made by Joan Stevens, Robbie’s trans mentor and Professor Camille Bethany. Professor Bethany, with Dr. Butler’s okay, had three hours with Robbie.

The conclusions that Lorraine Butler and Professor Bethany came to was the same. Robbie was telling the truth. She had blackouts not induced by the trauma of the murders. Both had the same opinion. The blackouts were legitimate. It would be extremely unlikely that Robbie would commit five murders andhave five blackouts. It was also highly unlikely that anyone else would either.

Having spent less than two hours with Robbie, but in his words, having extensively reviewed everything, the professor came to the opposite conclusion. Robbie was lying. She was pulling a scam or, she did the murders and had real blackouts from them.

“To be clear, Professor,” Hughes said wrapping up his direct exam, “Roberta Craig-Powell, in your opinion, is committing a clever fraud and that she did these murders and is either lying about the blackouts or the blackouts are real, brought on by the trauma of committing these murders? In your opinion as an expert psychiatric witness?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

Judge Foster called a break before Marc began his cross examination. Maddy’s bladder was about to burst, causing her to hurry out. While in the Ladies Room, Maddy’s phone buzzed. She had received a text.

Found them both. They will help. I’ll call later.

It was from Tony Carvelli and the them that he found was very good news.

“Professor MacArthur,” Marc said, beginning his cross examination. “Help me be clear about something. Setting aside the possibility that Robbie Craig is pulling off a scam, I want to be sure about the trauma causing the blackouts.

“Isn’t it true, as you testified, that Doctors Butler, a psychiatrist, and Camille Bethany, a psychology professor at a prestigious major university, Northwestern…”

“Objection, these women have not been established as experts your Honor,” Hughes stood to argue.

“I’m not saying they are. If you’ll allow me to continue, the court will understand why I mention them,” Marc replied.

“Overruled. Get there.”

“You used their records, their video and their opinions when you prepared your own opinion, did you not?”

“Yes, I reviewed them.”

“And you came to the same conclusion they did, that is, if the blackouts we heard about from a reading of Robbie’s diary were real, they were caused by a trauma?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“As a highly qualified psychiatrist and expert witness, would you characterize this as being cognitively, mentally impaired? Diminished?”

“Objection,” Hughes practically yelled and almost jumped out of his chair.

“Your Honor, we must insist on a brief conference in chambers,” Hughes said.

Judge Foster looked at the clock and said, “Fifteen minutes.”

He then looked at the lawyers and said, “Let’s go. George, you too,” he said to his court reporter.

Back in chambers, before Hughes or anyone else could say anything, Judge Foster held up a hand to stop them.

“I want this on the record,” Foster said.