For the People Chapter 31

The woman in the well-tailored navy blue suit radiates confidence as she states her name, Laura Skinner, for the record, and takes the oath. Mace Kudrow gazes across the space from the defense table toward the witness stand. "Dr. Skinner, please tell the court about your credentials."

Skinner sits as tall in her seat as her five-foot-seven height allows. "I have a bachelor's degree in psychology from Hunter University. I received my M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine and did my residency in psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital in New York."

"And how are you presently employed?" Kudrow asks.

"I have a private practice."

"And what type of patients do you work with in private practice?"

"I work with patients with many types of mental illnesses, but I specialize in mania and associated delusions."

"And did you examine Mr. Duffy?"

"I did."

"And what did you conclude from that examination?"

"That Mr. Duffy experiences hyperreligiosity, a type of pathology that can be associated with many types of disorders. He was particularly focused on preventing what he referred to as the murder of the unborn."

"And might setting fire to The Women's Health Clinic have been a manifestation of Mr. Duffy's hyperreligiosity?"

"It would be consistent with what I observed from Mr. Duffy."

"And if Mr. Duffy was in the grip of this hyperreligiosity, would he have understood that his actions were wrong?"

"He would not. From my observations, he would have believed he was acting in accordance with commands from God."

"Thank you, Dr. Skinner, that is very enlightening. That's all I need."

"Cross, Ms. Beckett?" Judge Willis inquires.

Splaying a hand over her increasingly obvious bump, Kate gets to her feet.

"Dr. Skinner, you said you did your residency at Bellevue Hospital. Bellevue is one of the oldest yet most innovative hospitals with psychiatric services in the country, is it not?"

"Yes, it is, Ms. Beckett."

"And while you were a resident there did you have the opportunity to learn about the types of pathologies that would cause hyperreligiosity?"

"Yes."

"Did you explore the diagnosis and treatment of those pathologies?"

"Yes, I did."

"Can you tell us specifically what can cause hyperreligiosity?"

"As I said, Ms. Beckett, there are many causes. They include complex temporal lobe seizures which cause mania, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, hallucinogen related psychosis, and psychotic disorders."

"And might some or all of those causes be diagnosable by brain scans or other types of medical testing?"

"Those affecting known areas of the brain would be, but not necessarily the psychotic disorders."

"Did you perform any scans or other types of medical tests on Mr. Duffy?"

"I did not."

"So how did you diagnose Mr. Duffy's hyperreligiosity?"

"By talking to him, observing him, and taking into account his behavior."

"Which behavior, Dr. Skinner?"

"Burning down the Women's Health Clinic."

"How about the other two fires, the ones evidence presented in this trial showed took place when Mr. Duffy received payment and ordered an accelerant identical to that used to burn down the clinic? Did you take those into account?"

Redness begins to creep up Dr. Skinner's neck. "When I examined Mr. Duffy, I wasn't aware of any other fires."

"Dr. Skinner, does hyperreligiosity occur in episodes such as a manic phase of bipolar or other psychotic disorders?"

"It can."

"And how long would such an episode last?"

"They vary in length from episode to episode and patient to patient."

"And for Mr. Duffy's hyperreligiosity to account for the fire and death of Fiona Morgan, would an episode have to cover the entire time preparations were made?"

"What preparations, Ms. Beckett?" Skinner asks.

"Ordering and receiving an accelerant and assembling a detonator from a kit over a span of almost a week. In other words, Dr. Skinner, would you expect Mr. Duffy to do those things except when experiencing an episode of some disorder?"

"I would not."

And did you examine or observe Mr. Duffy for the amount of time such an episode would be required to cover?"

"No, I didn't."

"How long did you talk to and observe Mr. Duffy?"

Flush spreads to Skinner's face. "For three hours."

"And during those three hours what was Mr. Duffy doing?"

"Sitting in my office."

"And did his words and/or actions in your office indicate hyperreligiosity?"

"They appeared to."

Kate's eyes narrow. "What exactly did Mr. Duffy say and do that led you to your diagnosis?"

"He seemed unable to sit still in his seat, and he talked about having to do everything to prevent the murder of the unborn."

"So Mr. Duffy bounced around a bit."

"You could describe his activity that way."

"And he communicated that he felt murder was contrary to God's will?"

"Only murder of the unborn."

"So he skipped the part of God's will that says not to murder humans already born? It would seem the ten commandments make that one pretty clear even to the mildly religious."

Kudrow jumps to his feet. "Objection! Ms. Beckett is testifying."

Kate shrugs. "Withdrawn."

"Dr. Skinner, are you receiving any compensation from the defense for your examination of Mr. Duffy and your testimony today?"

"Five hundred dollars an hour plus expenses."

"And Dr. Skinner, if when you examined and diagnosed Mr. Duffy, you were aware of all the evidence presented so far at this trial, could you have made a definitive diagnosis of hyperreligiosity?"

Skinner's carefully colored lips come together in a hard line. "I don't believe so."

Kate makes a show of flipping back the pages on a legal pad. "That's all I have."

Pressing against the defense table, Kudrow pushes to his feet. "Redirect. Dr. Skinner, from what you personally observed of Mr. Duffy during your examination process, would you diagnose him as pathologically hyperreligious?"

"Yes, I would."

"Thank you, Dr. Skinner."

"Ms. Beckett?" Willis inquires.

"Nothing further, Your Honor."

"Defense rests," Kudrow announces.

"We are nearing five pm," Willis notes. "I have another matter on my docket for tomorrow morning. "So the trial will reconvene at two, tomorrow afternoon. Court is adjourned."


"How's your closing going?" Rick asks, bringing Kate Lanie's highly touted blend of Jamba Juice.

"I feel like I'm on a tightrope. I don't want to offend the genuinely religious. But I need to portray Duffy as a conman who feigned religiousness to put one over on the faithful. Actually, it will help to point out that Duffy would have completely fooled Dr. Skinner if it hadn't been for the evidence presented about the other fires. She has good credentials, at least on paper. His other believers, including any who might be on the jury, won't have to feel stupid for buying his act."

Rick pulls up a chair next to Kate. "What do you mean she has good credentials on paper?"

"I checked her out as much as I could. Lanie put me on to some contacts. Most of what I found was rumor. I couldn't have introduced it in court if I'd wanted to. But the story floating around is that Skinner didn't go into private practice by choice. Supposedly, a journal had to withdraw a paper she put out because her statistics concerning a diagnostic method were questionable at best. Her evaluation of patients' symptoms wasn't what it should have been either. Bellevue didn't opt to keep her, and no other decent hospital wanted her. So she hung out a shingle. Lawyers love her because she comes across as authoritative. But none of them would send anyone they cared about to her as a patient."

Rick shakes his head. "And she's still got a medical license?"

"No one's ever proved anything against her. But if Duffy is convicted, Skinner's reputation as an expert witness may lose some of its sheen."

Rick presses a kiss to Kate's hair. "After you get through with your closing, it will be downright dull."

"If I'm going to do that, I need you to go work on your book or something and stop distracting me."

Rick springs up and salutes. "The pregnant prosecutor speaks, and her faithful consort must obey."