Abigail the lawyer Pt. 17

Abigail: Your Honor, with the opening statements concluded, the prosecution would like to call our first witness to the stand. 

Judge: Who does the prosecution call to the stand, Ms. Abigail?

Abigail: The prosecution calls Dr. Maria Martinez to the stand.

The bailiff opens the door to the waiting room, escorting Mary to the Witness stand. She is a beautiful woman with gentle chocolate brown eyes, long brown hair, and a visible baby bump showing she is several months pregnant. Mary walked slowly but steadily to the witness stand. Her face was etched with a weariness that seemed to go beyond physical exhaustion. She placed her hand on the Bible, her voice firm as she swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Abigail approached the witness stand, her posture radiating quiet authority. 

Abigail: Dr. Martinez, please state your name and occupation for the record.

Mary: I am Maria Martinez, I'm a pediatrician at the Amistad medical clinic.

Abigail: Dr. Martinez, are you familiar with Amelia Buck?

Dr. Martinez's gaze flickered to the defendant, Allen Buck. A barely perceptible shiver ran through her as she thought about what he did to her friend’s little sister-in-law. Which was replaced by a spark of anger she concealed expertly.

Mary: Yes, I am. Amelia is a patient of mine.

Abigail: And under what circumstances did Amelia Buck become your patient?

Mary: Amelia was booked for a health check-up by her pending legal guardians, Mr and Mrs. O’Neil. Mrs. O’Neil said that she suspected that Amelia was abused by her former legal guardians, because of the multiple scars she found on her when they first met. When I examined her, I found multiple scars on her body that Mrs. O’Neil mentions. Mainly consisting of burns and cuts on her arms, a scar made by a metal shakle her left ankle, and a scar on her scalp. 

Abigail: (She nodded, allowing the silence to hang in the air as the jury took in the morbid details of Amelia's wounds. She walks back to the offender's box and retrieves a document that she shows to Mary) Dr. Martinez, I am showing you Exhibit A, a medical report dated November 13th of last year. Can you identify this document?

Mary took the offered report, her fingers tracing the familiar words and signature.

Mary: Yes, this is my report documenting Amelia's initial examination on November 13th.

Abigail: Please read your findings to the court, Dr. Martinez.

Mary took a deep breath, reading off of her report. 

Mary: Amelia Buck is presented with 16 first degree burns along both forearms most likely caused by direct contact from a lit cigarette. A 9 centimeter long abrasion on her scalp that is estimated to have been inflicted one year prior by a sharp object, and a patterned abrasion on her left ankle caused by a steel shackle. The injuries appeared to be in various stages of healing, suggesting a pattern of inflicted trauma.

A murmur rippled through the courtroom. Abigail allowed it to subside before continuing with her evidence.

Abigail: Dr. Martinez, did you conduct any further examination to rule out other potential causes for these injuries?

Mary: Yes. I ordered a full skeletal survey, which revealed several older, healed fractures.

Abigail: (She presented another document, Exhibit B) And this, Dr. Martinez, what is it?

Mary: This is the report from the skeletal survey. It clearly shows evidence of old rib fractures, a hairline fracture in her left femur, spiral fractures on her right radius and ulna, an oblique fracture on her left clavicle, and a hairline fracture on her carpus. These fractures were untreated or poorly treated fractures, all of which were not recent injuries.

Abigail: Dr. Martinez, did you report your suspicions to the authorities?

Mary: Yes, I did. It is my legal and ethical obligation as a medical professional, especially when a child's safety is at risk.

Abigail walked to the prosecution table and picked up a series of photographs, labeled Exhibit C-G.

Abigail: Dr. Martinez, I am showing you Exhibits C through G, a series of X rays taken during Amelia's skeletal survey on November 28th of last year. Can you describe what these depict?

Mary's voice cracked slightly, seeing the heart-breaking photographs of Amelia’s X-ray. She hesitated for a moment to collect herself before she forced herself to speak. 

Mary: These photographs… they document the extent of Amelia's skeletal fractures. The … They show the pain and suffering that she endured from her uncle and his girlfriend for two years.

The courtroom was silent. Mr. Henderson seemed to flinch, turning his head slightly away from the graphic images displayed on the screen. He looks at Allen Buck, who looks at the images with indifference. While Martha Woodley breaks out in a nervous sweat. His contempt for the abusive couple grew with each piece of evidence shown, wanting nothing more than to plead guilty for them and be done with this trial. 

Abigail: Dr. Martinez, based on your professional medical opinion, and your examination of Amelia Buck, is it possible to attribute any of these injuries to any rough child’s play, as Mr. Henderson previously said in his opening statement. 

Mr. Henderson: Objection, your Honor. 

Judge: Overruled.

Mary: (She swallowed hard, her eyes welling up) Absolutely not! The pattern of injuries, the varying stages of healing, the stories given by Amelia discussing how she received these injuries from her uncle, the skeletal survey, the X-rays… all of it points unequivocally to child abuse.

Abigail turned to the jury holding up the X-ray photographs. 

Abigail: These reports, these photographs, are undeniable proof of the trauma Amelia Buck endured. Dr. Martinez, in your professional opinion, based on your examination of Amelia, can you definitively say that her injuries were consistent with child abuse?

Mary took a deep breath, her pregnant belly rising and falling. She looked directly at Allen Buck, her eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and righteous anger.

 Mary: Yes. Without a doubt, Amelia was abused.

Abigail: (She nodded, satisfied with Mary’s testimony) Thank you, Dr. Martinez. Your witness, Mr. Henderson.

Mr. Henderson rose from his seat and took to the floor. His strategy for Mary was underhanded, but he needed to burn this card quickly so the jury would prevent him from using it again.

Mr. Henderson: Dr. Martinez, (he began, his tone deceptively amiable) you mentioned Mr. and Mrs. O’Neil brought Amelia in, not her legal guardians, Allen Buck and Martha Woodley. Do you know how the O’Neils came into contact with Amelia, and why would they bring her to your clinic and not a hospital?

Mary: I don’t know the full details of their initial meeting. As to why they brought her to the clinic and not a hospital is because I am their family doctor and Amelia told them that her uncle, Allen Buck, abused her and inflicted those injuries.

Mr. Henderson: Is it possible that Amelia lied about the nature of her injuries? She is a child, and children are known to lie for their benefit. 

Mary: Mr. Henderson. The nature, severity, and pattern of Amelia’s injuries rule out any possibility that she received them from other means. The healed rib fracture, in particular, indicated an injury that had gone untreated for some time. An injury that is common in child abuse cases. Amelia could not have lied about her injuries.

Mr. Henderson: But you admitted Mrs. O’Neil reported ‘suspected abuse.’ ‘Suspected’ suggests uncertainty, wouldn’t you agree? Doctors can be wrong, can’t they? Especially doctors that are mothers, or mothers to be. How far along are you in your pregnancy, Doctor? Are you certain your judgment isn’t… clouded by hormones?

A murmur rippled through the courtroom along with a violent shout from Emerald and her friends present, cursing Mr. Henderson for insulting her friend. Abigail objected vehemently, but Mr. Henderson waved a dismissive hand. The damage was done, and he hated himself for it.

Judge: Order! Order in the court!

Mary: (>///n///<) My pregnancy has absolutely no bearing on my professional assessment. My observations were based on medical science, not emotion. And while doctors can be wrong, the evidence I presented – the reports, the photographs, the X-rays – all point to the same irrefutable conclusion: Amelia Buck was a victim of child abuse!

Abigail: Your Honor, I would like to request a recess. 

Judge: Very well, we shall reconvene here in 20.

Abigail looked at Henderson with mild disdain. She knew that the evidence is stacked against him, and his defence was like sand. He would have to go for the low-hanging fruit to get a leg up on her, and considering the rest of her witnesses are also pregnant like Mary, which is something he will use to his advantage to keep the fight going. 

Abigail would have to skillfully countered each of Mr. Henderson’s attempts to undermine her witnesses. The rest of her evidence: medical evidence from Mary's fellow collegues at Amistad medical clinic, Allen Buck's arresting officers, testimonies from neighbors who had witnessed Allen Buck's volatile temper, school reports detailing Amelia's withdrawn behavior, and a child psychologist's assessment confirming Amelia’s trauma will be the nails in Allen Buck’s coffin.

Once she was outside the courtroom, she apporaches Glenda and Steve and assured them that they would win this case, and Buck will be found guilty.