“Objection. Relevance?” asked the district attorney.
“Mr. Jaxson, relevance please,” demanded the judge.
“If you’ll give me a few more minutes to conduct a simple test, Your Honor, I’ll demonstrate the relevance.”
“I’ll overrule your objection for now, Madam D.A. However, Mr. Jaxson, you had better demonstrate the relevance soon or this time I will hold you in contempt and sustain the objection.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. During his deposition it was stipulated that Dr. Stern has no children, but does have three nieces and one nephew. Doctor, can you tell me which of them has a birthmark on their arm just on the back of their shoulder, and which arm, right or left?”
“Objection, the question is immaterial,” said D.A. Stanford.
“I’ll sustain the objection, but I did give the defense a few minutes to demonstrate relevance. Dr. Stern, I want to hear your answer.”
“I do not know which of my nieces or nephew has a mark on any of their arms,” replied Stern.
“So, if I brought your middle niece here into court and pointed to the birthmark just above the back of her shoulder, would you then question whether or not she is truly your niece?”
“No, I would not, even if she really does have a mark. However, I don’t believe the example you gave is befitting. You see, since my sister lives on the East Coast, I don’t get to see my nieces and nephew but twice a year, whereas I see the Rabbi once and sometimes twice a week.”
Jaxson interrupted him before he could finish. “Objection. The witness is giving us an extended narrative after he already answered the question.”
“Overruled.” He faced Stern and told him, “You may continue to explain.”
“It is quite possible that I may never have noticed my niece’s birthmark and never thought anything of it, especially if it’s located where you said, since I do not get to see her often. I always see their faces first and naturally, they are dressed. I first give them a big hug since the day they turned two-years old and they could handle a hug. Once I see them, especially at this age, they always leave my sister-in-law and me to talk, while they go occupy themselves elsewhere.”
Jaxson continued, “You say your niece is now in her teens and you say that you never noticed a birthmark on her; yet, you still swear that you saw a birthmark on Rabbi Bloom? Dr. Stern, is there any possibility the teeth found did not match the Rabbi’s teeth?”
“It’s possible,” Stern replied, “but highly unlikely. You see teeth are like fingerprints; no two people will have the exact same teeth. By that I mean the striations will be different on teeth that may even look identical as to their shape, size, and color. This is incontrovertible!” replied the dentist.
“If it’s incontrovertible, then how do you explain the fact that Rabbi Bloom is sitting in this court right now?”
“I can’t,” Stern replied, studying his hands.
Jaxson felt a flush of triumph for a moment, and then moved on.
“Dr. Stern, if I recollect correctly, you mentioned that after you noticed odd variations during the Rabbi’s services, you called Detective Pratt. Am I right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Would you please tell the jury why you called a detective to look into a crime instead of calling a psychiatrist if you suspected the possibility that something was amiss with his mind?”
“The only reason I suspected something amiss with his mind was his leaving the Hebrew word for Lord out of his prayers. It was after seeing the mark on his neck that I began to suspect some foul play may have taken place. A birthmark is not a sign of something wrong with one’s mind, so I didn’t see any need for a psychiatrist.”
That last comment caused immediate laughter in the courtroom, to which Judge Garnett pounded his gavel and called the courtroom back to order.
“How can you be sure it was a birthmark and not a tattoo?”
“Because as a doctor, even as a dentist, I can tell the difference between a small skin discoloration and a mechanical blotch made in ink regardless of the color.”
“Fine. But how can you be sure that birthmark wasn’t there all along and you just never noticed it?”
“I can’t,” Stern replied sheepishly.
“No more questions for this witness, your honor,” Jaxson said with bravado.
As the day was nearing late in the afternoon, the judge recessed the trial until the following morning.
Thirty
The next morning began with the standard introductions, swearing in of witnesses and jury, and the court clerk quieting the courtroom spectators. The judge entered from his chambers and sat down at his bench. “Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, Your Honor,” responded both attorneys and the gallery audience.
D.A. Stanford began. “The people call Mrs. Lorraine Anderson to the stand.”
“Mrs. Anderson, you are related to Rabbi Bloom, are you not?”
“Yes, Neil is my...excuse me, I meant to say the Rabbi is my nephew.”
“Would you please tell the court what background, or family history, you know about your nephew?”
“I will, but I request that they remove the defendant first, if that’s possible.”
“That’s not possible,” replied Stanford. “The defendant has the absolute right to sit in court and hear all of the testimony that will be given either against him or on his behalf. Would you share your reasoning as to why it makes a difference to you, whether or not he’s in court?”
“Because what I’m about to tell the court and jury may come as a terrible shock to him, since this would be the first time in his life that he’s ever heard it.”
“The defendant will remain in court,” ruled the judge. “Now, Mrs. Anderson, please tell us what, specifically, you are referring to?”
“The Rabbi’s father is my brother. My brother and his wife, Neil’s mother, made me swear that I would never reveal the secret about my nephew, Rabbi Neil Bloom, even if they were to die before me,” said Lorraine Anderson.
“What secret is that, Mrs.
