Chapter 19 Heading for the altar
Thank God for those three ladies! Kensi thought that once her career change was decided and she started down the new (final?) track, that she could relax a little and pay more attention to her upcoming nuptials. She was so wrong!
Here she was, a 21 y/o young lady, 2 years of college under her belt (most of which was useless), the CEO of a new corporation, headed toward the altar to say, "I DO!". The one stable thing in her life was her relationship with her fiancé, Marty Deeks. His love, adoration and support were buoying her up day by day. And boy did she ever need it. Then there were those three ladies:
Julia Blye – her mother,
Cheryl Nelson – wife of Stanford-Law chairman, Roger Nelson,
Karen Edwards – wife of San Jose County District Attorney James Edwards.
When the SHIT hit the fan in regard to Kensi's degree program these women shifted gears. They were already part (most!) of the wedding planning process; each had been assigned an area or two of responsibility. Now, they picked up the pace, communicated more closely with each other, and lessened even further the things Kensi needed to pay attention to. If Kensi and Marty were actually going to make it to the altar on July 29th (her 22nd birthday) these 3 ladies would deserve all the praise.
Marty was teaching 4 of the 8 "Introduction to" classes for 1st year law students. His classes were very highly rated; the students almost universally relished his laid-back teaching style. He insisted on excellence and his students almost always responded positively. In addition, he was going out of his way to work with the SJC-DA*, trying to find cases where his students could work with the Public Defender's office to gain real world experience. For these cases the students gained extra credit, which he made sure was available to the students with the lower-class standings. Thus, those students could improve their class standing and gain a much-needed morale boost.
When he did some work for Kensi's corporation, he would throw that opportunity to assist him open to all students, so none of them would feel neglected.
Through his contract he was fast-tracked to tenure, thus he was eligible for two weeks of vacation in a condo of his choice. He and Kensi had chosen to use one of those weeks for their honeymoon immediately after the wedding. They were going to the Caribbean, a place neither of them had ever been. They were looking forward to that.
Thanksgiving this time was again spent close to home. Donald and Julia did come up and stay with them.
Julia spent some time meeting with Cheryl and Karen re the wedding. Otherwise, she was busy preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. They invited Roger and Cheryl and they accepted. Cheryl had wanted to host the dinner at their fancy home; Julia and Kensi declined. Dinner would be at Kensi and Marty's apartment. Cheryl gave in.
Donald spent some time helping Kensi plan for the weapons training and shooting school part of the corp. Since there wasn't enough demand at present for sniper training, he would not be coming north to teach but would be an asset for Kensi. He did plan to start going to the Pendleton Marine base and sharpen his own skills, in anticipation of a sniper training program starting up in the near future. It was obvious that he was enjoying being involved, and Kensi was over the moon to be working with her dad! That played a big part in helping her get through this stressful time.
At Christmas, Marty and Kensi spent 10 days in LA at her folk's home. They spent a lot of time at the beach and in the water. The Southern CA water was just enough warmer so they could relax and enjoy themselves. They did some more tandem surfing, which had long ago become a favorite activity. The close togetherness of tandem was an obvious attraction!
Christmas presents were a modest affair not worth reporting on. They had each other after all, what more did they need? That question would soon hit center stage.
They lay in bed, secure in each other's arms when Kensi spoke up. "Marty?"
"Um?"
"There is something we have never really talked about."
"What's that?"
"Kids."
"You want to talk about kids?"
"Yeah. I mean, do you want kids? How many? When should we start trying, lover boy? You know, that kind of stuff."
"Whoa! How about one question at a time? Yes, I would like kids, you?"
"Yes, but not before we're married . . . is that OK?"
"I agree. How about we pop one out and re-evaluate?"
"Pop one out? It sounds like you're shelling pistachio nuts there!"
"No, no, it's just that your part is hard work. My part – well, that's enjoyable. You enjoy that part too!" He grins at her.
"You are impossible! I should cut you off until after the wedding. Then we'll talk, see what tune you are singing then, lover boy." Kensi smirks.
"That's unconstitutional!" Marty posits.
"What?" Kensi objects.
"Cruel and unusual punishment."
"OK, you come to South Bay with me tomorrow. We'll spar, I'll show you cruel and unusual."
'Ouch' Marty's brain screams. Other body parts shrivel and retreat to safer ground.
Two weeks later Marty and his students were in the thick of it. They were working a custody case for the SJC Public Defender's office. A case involving two children under the age of five. The parents, dad age 34 and mom age 23, had only an 8th grade education. Mom worked as a prostitute (sometimes worked as a waitress) and dad sold drugs (sometimes worked in construction). There was solid evidence of physical and verbal abuse suffered by and given out by both parents. The kids, of course, were abused also abused. Alcohol flowed in abundance when there was $ to purchase it. Everyone was malnourished and showed signs of acute and chronic injuries. Both parents wanted custody of the kids (and the income from child support payments). That money assumed that the recipient was TAKING CARE of the children to whom the $ was attached. An assumption only a flawed system could make with a straight face.
Marty asked for 12 volunteers:
3 to argue for father's full custody,
3 to argue for mother's full custody,
3 to argue for a mixed solution; dad % and mom %,
3 to argue that the children be removed entirely from this home and a placement sought. Placement suggestions thoughtfully presented would garner extra credit.
In the end, the 4 lawyer groups were not filled with volunteers, therefore Marty assigned students to fill out the groups.
Not all students were pleased, thus emphasizing that in the real world being assigned a case within an organization was NOT like picking cherries.
After the classroom bedlam settled down Marty signaled, and 5 Law school faculty entered: Roger (chairman) and 4 others. These 5 plus Marty were to be the jury, grading the papers and assigning results.
Class would reconvene in 2 weeks at which time,
Each group would submit a paper with their solution and,
Have 12 minutes to present orally their argument on behalf of their solution.
This project would comprise 20% of their semester grade!
As the 2 weeks went along there was much discussion between Marty and Kensi - this was just a prelude to real life.
Stanford-Law hadn't seen such heated interest and discussion in decades. The faculty were quite interested to see the outcome. Pulling the iron out of the fire on a case such as this has made many a career in the past.
Let the cream rise to the top!
TWO WEEKS LATER
GROUP A – FATHER FULL CUSTODY
By their body language and their voice inflection this group obviously didn't think that the dad should be anywhere near these (his) children. BUT that was their assigned task – to advocate for him. GRADE – F!
GROUP B – MOTHER FULL CUSTODY
By their body language and their voice inflection this group obviously didn't think that the mom should be anywhere near these (her) children. BUT that was their assigned task – to advocate for her. GRADE – F!
GROUP C – Mixed % solution
By their body language and their voice inflection this group obviously didn't think that the parents should be anywhere near their children. BUT that was their assigned task – to advocate for them. GRADE – F!
GROUP D – Removal & placement
This group argued their case aggressively and persuasively. Several placement options from the real world were presented, though none were preferred. Two however gained the most internal support within the group 1) Foster care within a stable family setting where the goal of the foster parents was adoption, 2) Foster care leading to adoption with a suitable 'related' family (if such can be found). GRADE – A!
INTERESTING DISCUSSION POINTS
Forced sterilization. Can this be done these days?
Would either parent be a candidate?
If either parent undergoes voluntary sterilization, would that improve their case?
What are the minimum criteria for removal of a child from their parent's care?
Were there any chargeable crimes committed in this case?
How might this have been prevented?
Thus, sparing these children this long-standing trauma? Emotional & physical.
Marty thanked the students and faculty who participated and announced the next assignment.
"Next, all students participate. In 2 weeks, a paper is due from everyone, participating individually. No length is stipulated. TITLE: What I learned from the project the class just participated in. 5% of semester grade. I'll see you all in two weeks."
Little did Marty know, but his world would be rocked before he saw this class again.
*SJC-DA = Sab Jose County District Attorney