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Marc’s office door was closed but despite that, he could hear a commotion in the office common area. Reflexively he looked at his watch. She’s early , he thought.

Maddy Rivers had entered the office. Maddy claimed she never tried to create a fuss and said she did not like it; Marc knew she was lying. Who would not want to be as popular and welcome as she always was? Marc tried to deny something also,

due to their working relationship. He could not help it. He was totally smitten with the lovely Ms. Rivers.

Marc had a meeting scheduled with what he labeled the Kangaroo Court of the University of Minnesota. He was representing an expelled student, Branson Fellows. A young woman, also a student, accused him of rape. No investigation, no opportunity to be heard, the U’s Kangaroo Court, following policy, expelled Branson immediately. The accusation alone was good enough.

Branson’s father was a business client of one of Marc’s officemates, Chris Grafton. Chris, who had taken a vow of celibacy when it came to courtrooms of any kind, handed Branson off to Marc.

Maddy had done the investigation and found friends of the girl who were willing to testify that it was clearly consensual. Meeting with the Kangaroo Court members, Marc wanted her there.

There was a knock on Marc’s door and Maddy entered before Marc could respond. In fact, he did not even bother to say come in, he knew she would.

“Hi!” she said then sat down in a client chair.

Marc was handwriting on a document while she did this. Without looking up, he replied, “Hello and where do you want me to take you for lunch?”

“Oh, is it lunch time? I hadn’t noticed,” she replied.

Marc looked at her and saw the intentional disingenuous look on her face.

Marc laughed then said, again, “Where do you want to go? ”

“You choose, I don’t care,” she said.

“Oh, no you don’t. I’m not playing that game with you. I start suggesting places and like every woman back to the Stone Age, you shoot them down. When I finally get to the one you want, that’s where we go.

“Just tell me, where do you want to go?”

“We don’t really do that!” she indignantly replied.

“Yes, you do. Now tell me.”

“Well, if you insist. I’m in the mood for Italian. How about Mario’s?”

“Mario’s it is. See, that wasn’t so difficult, was it?”

“We just want you men to think it was your idea,” Maddy said.

“Since when? It’s never our idea; you know it and we know it. Let’s go. I don’t want to be late for the Kangaroo Court.”

“Please, come in and have a seat,” one of the five members of the discipline committee said.

Marc, with Maddy Rivers right behind him, entered the room. There was a table set up for them with two chairs. Approximately ten feet away was the seating for the committee members.

There were five of them, three women and two men, seated at another table facing the table for Marc and Maddy. The table for the committee members was set up on a platform two steps above where the respondent table was located. There was a sixth person, another woman, seated on the end of the committee table. This woman was much younger, maybe mid-thirties, than the committee members. Her name plate identified her as Susan Thorn, and she was a lawyer.

There was a third table to Marc’s left. This was for the complainant if that person’s attendance was required. It was empty today.

“You’re recording this?” Marc asked the lawyer.

“Yes,” she politely replied.

“I’ll want a copy.”

“No problem. I’ll see to it,” she replied.

“Thank you for allowing us this opportunity to meet with you,” Marc began .

While Marc spoke, Maddy was busy taking notes. There were name plates for each member placed in front of him or her. Maddy wrote them all down.

“My name is Marc Kadella and with me is Madeline Rivers. Ms. Rivers is a private investigator who worked with me. She interviewed a number of witnesses…”

“In fairness,” the woman seated to the right of the chairperson interrupted Marc, “this is probably a waste of everyone’s time.”

Her name plate identified her as a Professor Ingrid Sorensen. Marc, having been given the list of the committee members, expected this from her. She taught Women’s Studies and her life partner was another woman social justice professor.

“Ingrid, let the man speak,” the man next to her said. He was Professor Alan Helfinger, an engineering teacher.

Marc held up a short stack of documents, six copies, stapled together. “I have something for each of you. Briefly, they are signed witness statements. Ms. Rivers obtained these statements from other young women and two male students.”

“Totally irrelevant,” the chairperson, Professor Helen Thompson quickly said.

“You may think so, but the reason we are here is so I can give you a chance to fix this outside of a courtroom,” Marc said.

“Students sign a waiver that gives us full authority to administer these disputes. We will not be in court,” Thompson said.

Smothering his growing anger at the arrogance of this group of amateurs, Marc said, “Trust me. I’ll find a way to get us into a court and it will be a federal court. Besides, those waivers are probably useless since the students have no choice but to sign them if they want to go to school here. A waste of paper.”

“I recommend we hear what Mr. Kadella has to say,” the committee lawyer said.

Marc stood then walked up to the committee table. As he did so, the third woman member, Assistant Professor Karen Olds, said, “You should ask permission to…”

Marc glared at her and shut her up in mid-sentence.

“I guess it’s okay,” she meekly said .

Marc handed out a set of the papers to each then went back to his table.

“Your complainant is a, well, I’m trying to find a polite way of saying this,” Marc said. “Your complainant is a, well…” he paused.

“A slut,” Maddy said.

“That is totally irrelevant,” the chairperson, Professor Thompson, although shocked and offended, replied.

“She told two of her friends, their statements are signed and you have copies,” Maddy said, “that she, Kendra Barker told them she was going to and I quote, fuck Branson Fellows so she could claim rape, sue him and make a bundle of money. I have it recorded.”

“Oops,” the fifth member, a younger man, Professor Kyle Johnson said. Johnson was from the business school.

“Isn’t that hearsay?” Ingrid Sorenson asked.

“Statement against interest,” the lawyer said.

“We’re not in a courtroom,” Sorenson replied, although by now she was not as certain as she at first seemed.

“So what?” Marc asked. “If you had done your job, conducted an open-minded, legitimate investigation, we wouldn’t be here today.

“Since you have decided to toss aside hundreds of years of jurisprudence because of your political correctness, here we are.”

“I resent…” Sorenson started to say.

“Time to be quiet,” Marc said, “You’re attitude of guilty with no chance to prove innocence is about to cost you.

“Maddy, would you hand these out, please?” Marc asked, handing her several copies of a single sheet of paper.

“Ms. Rivers is giving each of you a copy of a press release. I’m going to send it to a nasty reporter at the Star Tribune, Philo Anson. I know Philo. He loves this stuff.

“A cash settlement,” Chairperson Thompson said when she saw it on the press release. “Who said anything about…”

“I’m getting there,” Marc said.

“You people have just about destroyed this young man’s life.”

“Women need to be believed,” Professor Olds said .

“Quiet time,” their lawyer said.

“His name was leaked to the media and that needs to be rectified, at least as much as possible.”

The room went completely silent while Marc looked each of them in the eyes in turn. The silence lasted for over a minute until Marc ended it.

“You have to ask yourselves a question. Do you really want the opportunity to sit on a witness stand in a federal court and explain yourselves? Do you want to make me put Kendra Barker on that same witness stand and eviscerate her? Do you want these witnesses to testify about what they know about her?”

“What do you want, Marc?” Susan Thorn, their lawyer quietly asked.

“For starters, stop doing this. Stop taking the word of every girl who wakes up the morning after with a hangover and regrets about who she slept with the night before. Find a better way.

“I want a press release from the University of Minesota by this committee, with all of your names in it, taking full responsibility exonerating my client …”

“I voted against it,” Kyle Johnson said.

“Then the press release should include that,” Marc said.

“You will also pay my fees and costs…”

“We can’t…” Thompson said.

“Yes, you can,” Marc said. “Find a way. Oh, and, my fees and costs plus thirty percent annual interest to begin thirty days from today until everything is paid. That includes two hundred thousand dollars to my client for the damage you did to him…”

“We…”

“Don’t even say it,” Marc said. “Even if the four of you have to pay for it yourselves, you will.

“Finally, Branson Fellows is to be given a free ride at this university including any post decree program he chooses. Put him on scholarship.

“Or, if you decide to turn me down, we take the sitting on a witness stand in federal court to explain yourselves option. I’m being kind compared to that. Two hundred thousand, my fees and the scholarship will sound cheap after I’m done with you. ”

“What about a nondisclosure agreement?” Professor Helfinger asked.

“An NDA? You’re about to put this in a news release. Then there’s always that witness stand option. Your lawyer will explain to you how much fun I’ll have,” Marc said. “And what is it with you guys with tortoise shell glasses, tweed coats with elbow patches and bow ties? Do you own a mirror?”

Both Maddy and Susan Thorn choked back laughter after that statement. When he saw the offended look on Helfinger’s face, Marc said, “Never mind. It suits you.

“I’ll give you to the end of tomorrow or I start adding money on to it so call me and let me know you’ve accepted,” Marc said to Susan Thorn.

Marc closed the office’s back stairs exterior door when he returned. Seated in one of the reception area chairs was another client, Kenneth James.

Surprised by his presence, Marc looked at Sandy and asked, “Did I have an appointment?”

“No, I just needed to see you,” Ken answered for Sandy.

“Can I see you in your office? I need to ask you something,” Sandy asked.

Marc looked at the area’s wall clock which read 4:20. He noticed all of the other lawyers’ office doors were closed and Sandy was the only staff still here.

“Yeah, sure,” Marc answered Sandy. “Give me a couple minutes, Ken. Then I’ll be with you.”

“Take your time. I know I’m kind of intruding.”

“Why is he here?” Sandy whispered after closing Marc’s door.

“Where is everybody?” Marc quietly asked.

“They’re in their offices with the doors locked,” Sandy whispered. “Jeff and Carolyn left early leaving me alone with him.”

“With who?” Marc asked.

“Him!” Sandy replied as quietly and emphatically as she could while pointing toward Marc’s client. “He creeps everybody out,” Sandy said still whispering .

“We had the offices sound proofed,” Marc said in his normal voice.

Still agitated Sandy said, “I don’t care. Why is he here?”

“To see me. I’m his lawyer. Remember? We’re a law office.”

“He creeps me out. He’s been sitting there for an hour. Did you get my text?”

“Maybe. I didn’t check.”

“He stares at me,” Sandy said still whispering.

“So do I when you’re not looking,” Marc said.

“Really? You, I wouldn’t mind,” she replied.

“I thought you had a boyfriend?”

“I do. So?”

“I gotta see my client. Go.”

“Have a seat Ken,” Marc said.

Kenneth James was Marc’s most recent murder case. He claimed he hit his wife with a metal vase in self-defense after she had stabbed him three times. The medical examiner’s report of the stab wounds made it clear the M.E. was not buying it. The M.E. would testify they were self-inflicted.

Marc had a retired pathologist who would dispute that. He was certain the wounds were deep enough. Who would the jury believe? There was another problem. These two had a history of domestic assault by both of them.

“Did you call the monitoring service and let them know you were coming here?”

Ken was out on bail and wore an ankle monitoring device. He could visit his lawyer after letting them know he was going to.

“Of course,” Ken answered.

“What’s up?”

“We still on for trial next week,” Ken asked.

“Haven’t heard anything different. Why?” Marc answered.

There was a long silence between them. Marc, believing he knew what was coming, stared at Ken. Ken averted his eyes while trying to decide how to tell Marc what was on his mind.

“Spit it out, Ken,” Marc said .

“Do you, could you, we I guess, still make the deal for second degree manslaughter?”

“I think so. They may want first degree manslaughter. Even so, you’re going to have to allocute to it in open court. Admit you did it,” Marc told him.

Following a long pause, Ken finally said, “I did do it. I mean well, I didn’t mean to kill her. She was seeing someone else, cheating and we got into it. She said it was my fault, screaming at me. The vase was there and I hit her with it.

“I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I can’t live with the guilt. My kids know. My son told me to be a man and admit what I did. It’s been eating at me ever since.”

“Feel better?” Marc asked.

“No, yeah, I mean, yes, I do. You knew, didn’t you?”

“I never thought much about it,” Marc said. “I’ll make the call. Sentencing will be up to the judge. She will get a report from court services. We’ll see.”

“Okay. Thanks, Marc. Do what you can.”