The Greatest Lie Part 12

On the other hand, if Nora is indeed any good, her pretrial conference would have had to go into the specifics of what harm befell Tran as a result of the actions of Father Tom. For example, the molestation set into motion a chain of events that led to Tran to run away from home.

Nora could brief Tran that the alienation of parental affection and the destruction of family bonds could be main damage claimed, without having to question Tran about her life of prostitution and arrest. (But Nora could cross her fingers as she said that, and think, "I’ll hold that arrow in my quiver, just the same."

Is it credible that Nora could accept Tran as one of the plaintiffs to a class-action suit if Tran had no idea of how she could have been harmed and why the way in which she was harmed warrants her inclusion into the class of plaintiffs in this case, unless, of course, Tran were of such tender years or unsound mind she could not understand such a question? Can Tran be smart enough to get a GED and so dense as to not understand the word rape?

I suspect that Nora would have briefed Tran on the meaning of the term carefully enough to get Tran to say, "He raped me!" before she would let Tran near the stand. I also suspect Nora might understand Tran’s unease around courts, and reluctance to take the stand. Shouldn’t a lawyer brief an obviously nervous client to answer "I’m too upset to answer that now," and ask for a moment to regain her composure? If Nora were really clever, she might even have briefed Tran to give Nora a hand signal—Rescue Me!—to warn Nora to step in if Tran should feel afraid she’s about to turn on the waterworks or go into hysterics. For example, "Drum your fingers on the arm of your chair if you think you are about to lose it, and I will swoop in and ask the judge for a recess."

You seem to know something of the workings of courts. Do you want to talk about all of this, or just push on?

By the way, it’s still a great story.)