Anonymous Tip: In Which Bruises Are Not Abuse

A Review Series of Anonymous Tip, by Michael Farris

Pp. 127-131

For background, see this piece about Gwen’s interview with Dr. McGuire.

It’s Monday morning now, the day before the hearing, and Sally has been sent to exchange the psychologists’ reports. First picked up two copies of Dr. Schram’s report, and then she drove to the Public Safety Building and exchanged a copy of Dr. Schram’s report for a copy of Dr. McGuire’s report. Farris tells us that Dr. McGuire’s report had been “left at the front desk by Gail Willet with strict instructions to only release the report if there was an exchange.” The way this is written suggests we are, once again, to think that there is something wrong with Gail sticking to what I’m fairly certain are, once again, simply the rules.

Sally couldn’t help opening and skimming both reports. She would see them eventually anyway, but she rarely saw these things first and she was very curious.

I have no idea whether or not it is proper procedure for a secretary to read a client’s psychologist reports before handing them off to her lawyer boss, but then, Peter doesn’t seem that hung up on proper procedure anyway.

Peter was shocked by the content of McGuire’s report.

Wait! Hold on! Back up! What did Sally think of the reports?! *skims back, skims forward* It’s not there—anywhere. Sally gets to look at the report—and we get to know that she looked at the report—but we aren’t privileged to her thoughts, because it’s only Peter’s thoughts that really matter. Way to leave us hanging, Farris!

Peter was shocked by the content of McGuire’s report. He could not believe that two psychologists could interview the same people and come to such wildly divergent opinions. After a second reading, it was obvious he needed some answers from Gwen.

Peter calls Gwen and tells her he needs her to come to the office right away. There’s no mention of whether Gwen is at work—she’s a nurse, remember—or what she’s doing. Peter tells her that McGuire’s report is “vicious” and that she’d “better come down here right away,” so Gwen agreed and “scurried around to get herself together to go downtown”—she must not have been at work after all, because she was able to put on a jean and an oxford shirt and be on the way downtown in five minutes.

As she drove down the winding hill past the parks, stately homes, and the hospital where she worked, Gwen began to regret she had not snatched Casey and run.

Um. Okay. Great role model.

Once Gwen reaches the office, Peter wants to know what she told McGuire. He hands the report to Gwen to read, but when she starts with the front page he tells her to flip to the conclusion. Farris tells us that Peter watched as “a crimson went up her neck and across her face.” Finally, Gwen throws the report down in anger.

She sprang out of her chair. “He’s lying. He’s a dirty, lousy liar. I can’t believe this!”

For someone who has never attended church regularly, Gwen’s language is very tame.

Peter watched her carefully. He was analyzing her behavior, much as juries evaluate a person on the witness stand. Embarrassed anger would reveal a person upset that they had been found out. Forceful anger, Peter believed, would reveal a person railing against injustice.

First of all, I think this is the first time Peter has actually taken a moment to consider whether his client may be guilty. But second, I don’t think Peter has any understanding of the dynamics of abuse. An abuser would respond to something like this with forceful anger as well, and abusers are very good at playing the game, whatever game that might be.

She paced in front of the windows, her fury building. “That is the most despicable thing I have ever read in my life,” Gwen fumed. “He was so syrupy sweet. Portrayed himself as so understanding. I thought he was a great guy. And now this!” She walked back in front of Peter’s desk, put both hands firmly on the desk, and leaned over, placing her weight on her hands. “Peter, this man is an absolute liar. I did not tell him that my parents abused me. Either he was smoking those funny cigarettes and inhaled, or else he is an absolute idiot!”

And again I say, Gwen’s language is amazingly tame for the situation.

Peter believed her. And he was relieved she was angry rather than crying. He could work with an angry woman to get the details.

Oh lord. Really?! Really!? Do we have to do this?! I mean god forbid a woman cry! You know those hysterical crying women, they’re just so difficult to work with! Ugh!

Anyway, Peter asks Gwen what might have made McGuire think her parents abused her, and Gwen walked to the window and “stared blankly at the ONB Building and Riverfront Park” before telling Peter that she told McGuire that her parents had spanked her as a child. Then, under the pressure of Peter’s questions, Gwen’s memory kicks up a gear.

“I think I said something like, ‘I spank Casey in basically the same way my parents spanked me.'”

“Well, that would make some sense,” Peter replied. “If he is working on the assumption that you spanked Casey in a manner which left bruises, then he might have concluded that your parents spanked you and left bruises as well.”

“But a little bruise is not abuse!” Gwen explained.

What, what!? Methinks Gwen lost her script! She’s supposed to exclaim, again, that she has never bruised Casey. What is this ‘a little bruise is not abuse’ line?! Okay Gwen, I double dare you to get up in front of the judge at the hearing on Tuesday and repeat that line. That’ll go over real well.

“You’re right.”

Um, Peter? You’re supposed to remind Gwen that according to the law, leaving a bruise is abuse.

“At least in theory. But these days, even a little bruise and one assumes that it is child abuse.”

Exactly what is this supposed to mean?! Peter is conflating two things here. First of all, no one assumes that every childhood bruise indicates abuse. Kids fall down, they bump their knees and heads, it happens. But a parent intentionally inflicting a bruise on a child via corporal punishment? That is considered abuse, and it damn well should be. What Peter is doing here is minimizing abuse, big time.

“You aren’t telling me you’ve left little bruises on Casey, are you?”

Gwen turned on her heel, glaring at Peter.

“Whoa. Sorry. Just checking,” Peter said, ducking his head as if Gwen had thrown a punch.

Oh yes, let’s joke about domestic violence, that’s always fun. But seriously, Peter’s question was perfectly reasonable given Gwen’s exclamation that ‘a little bruise is not abuse.’

Gwen asks how bad it is, and Peter says it will come down to which psychologist the judge believes. “It will be my job to find every angle I can to make their story seem not believable and our version very believable,” he tells her, which I think maybe be the farthest he has gone yet in actually explaining legal strategy to Gwen.

Gwen went back to the window and stared. “This is so unfair,” she said. “I am absolutely telling the truth and the other side is crazy or lying. And my child and my future hang in the blanche of one man who has to look me in the eye and try to decide if I’m telling the truth.”

Um, Gwen? This is how our court system works.

Peter’s mind said, Any man who looks in your eyes will enjoy the experience.

Peter! Creep brain off!

Note that no one has mentioned that Dr. McGuire did not in fact recommend removing Casey from Gwen permanently. Rather, he recommended keeping Casey in foster care for less than six months while Gwen undergoes counseling. I realize this isn’t the outcome Gwen wants, and as a mom I know it would absolutely and completely suck to be separated from my kid for that long, but Gwen’s acting as though she’ll never see Casey again if the hearing goes against her.

Anyway, Peter tells Gwen about his meeting with Aaron last Friday, and about how God called his attention to a particular verse—‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.’ He tells her that “this means that God is able to direct the heart of a king, or in our case a judge, wherever He wills,” which sounds perfectly reasonable for evangelical-speak, but then he adds that “I am praying that tomorrow God will direct Judge Romer’s heart toward the truth—that he will believe you and return Casey home” when in fact the typical evangelical follow-up would be “what the judge decides is in God’s hands and we can trust that he knows what he’s doing.” This may seem nitpicky, but it’s bugging me that on top of everything else, Peter is a bad evangelical.

Gwen held her breath, deep in thought. “Thank you, Peter. That’s very nice. I hope it comes true. You sure are different from my last lawyer. Bible verses and prayers, instead of . . . . ” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

You’d think differently if you could see what’s going on in Peter’s head, Gwen. He’s less different from Bill Walinski than you may realize.

Peter offers to pray with Gwen, and then he does so, asking God to “direct [Judge Romer’s] heart to reunite Casey with her mother who loves her so,” as Gwen sits there embarrassed. Peter tells Gwen he needs to prepare for his cross-examination of McGuire, and then tells her what he spent his weekend doing.

I’ve also got some surprises for the other side. I spent all day Saturday in the library writing a brief that argues that the CPS workers violated your constitutional rights when they brusk into your home without a warrant. If the judge agrees with me, he should dismiss the case.

Peter admits that it’s a long shot, as Gwen says she hopes something works.

“Me too,” Peter said, again pulling his gaze away from her face. I’ve got to stop staring at her, he told himself. But he didn’t. Finally, looking down at his desk, feeling convicted in his spirit, he said, “Well, I’d better get to work.”

Gwen asks what she needs to do next and Peter says there’s really nothing for her to do but meet him at the courthouse at 8:15 the next morning. Gwen says she’ll bring her parents and asks if Casey will be there, and Peter says probably not. Gwen asks what she should wear, and Peter tells her to wear a nice dress in her favorite color. As Gwen heads out the door, she asks Peter to keep praying.

We’re getting dangerously close to the Tuesday hearing. Some of you have already expressed concern about that section potentially being boring. Believe me, I don’t like boring either! I will try to summarize where possible and make sure that each chunk has something interesting or horrifying in it to digest. And given that this is Anonymous Tip, that shouldn’t be difficult!