A Matter of Life and Death Read online

“Ms. Lockwood?” the judge said.

  “Officer Balske, I want to thank you for the compassion you showed to Ms. Stassen…”

  “Objection,” Hennessey said. “The defendant is a man.”

  “That’s true, Your Honor,” Robin said, “but Ms. Stassen identifies as a woman, looks like a woman, and has done everything to become a woman except have an operation, which is scheduled for two months from now.”

  “Nevertheless, Ms. Lockwood,” Carasco said, “right now, in this courtroom, your client is legally male. So, I am going to sustain the objection and order you to use male pronouns.”

  “Very well,” Robin said. Then she addressed the witness. “If I understand your testimony, my client asked if you liked oral sex?”

  “Yes.”

  “You said you did and that you’d paid as much as fifty dollars for oral sex?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, you were the first person to mention money.”

  Balske hesitated, then agreed that he had mentioned the money first.

  “Did Mr. Stassen ask you for fifty dollars?”

  Balske’s brow furrowed, and he took a moment to answer. “No.”

  “Did money ever change hands?”

  “I arrested the defendant before it could.”

  “So, your answer is that my client never asked you for money and no money changed hands?”

  “I … Yes.”

  “Thank you. I have no further questions.”

  Hennessey’s pale complexion reddened. “Officer Balske, it was obvious, wasn’t it, that Mr. Stassen expected to get paid for oral sex?”

  “Objection, Your Honor. The officer can’t read minds.”

  “Sustained.”

  “You are an experienced Vice officer, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And you’ve been involved in many prostitution cases and arrests?”

  “Yes.”

  “In your experience, did what happened in the Gold Piece conform to the actions of prostitutes in the cases in which you have been involved or have learned about in your capacity as a Vice officer?”

  “Objection, irrelevant and prejudicial. We are talking about this particular case. Not cases in general.”

  “No, Ms. Lockwood. The officer qualifies as an expert, so I’m going to let him answer.”

  “What happened between me and the defendant is similar to what happens in the typical prostitution case.”

  “No further questions, Your Honor.”

  “Ms. Lockwood?” the judge asked.

  “Officer Balske, isn’t it true that men and women go to bars all the time to meet partners who will agree to have sex in situations that do not constitute the crime of prostitution?”

  Balske smiled. “Of course.”

  The Golden Rule of cross-examination was “Never ask a question if you don’t know the answer,” but Balske seemed to be unbiased, so Robin decided to take a chance.

  “Given the fact that you were the one who brought up money and my client never asked for money, couldn’t what happened in the Gold Piece simply qualify as a situation where my client found you attractive and wanted a nonprofessional sexual relationship?”

  Balske thought over what Robin had said. Then he nodded. “It could have.”

  “No further questions.”

  Hennessey looked upset, but he didn’t ask any more questions.

  “The State rests,” Hennessey told the judge.

  “Any witnesses, Ms. Lockwood?”

  “May I have a moment to confer with my client?”

  “Of course.”

  Robin thought about making a motion to have the case dismissed for lack of evidence, but she decided that Carasco would deny her motion because of Balske’s opinion that Erika’s actions fit the pattern of a typical prostitution case.

  Robin leaned over and whispered to Erika, “I’m going to call you next.”

  “Do you have to? I’m scared to death.”

  “I know you’re scared, but you didn’t do anything wrong. The jury needs to hear from you. We went over what I’m going to ask. Remember what I told you. Just talk to the jurors as if they’re friends who are having dinner with you.”

  “What about cross-examination? He’ll try to trip me up.”

  “Hennessey is new, and he’ll be aggressive. Jurors don’t like attorneys who are mean or disrespectful. If you stay calm and tell the truth, Hennessey won’t be able to touch you.”

  “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “Look, Erika, if you’ve got the guts to change your sex, you’re tough enough to survive cross-examination. You’re also innocent. Tell the truth and you’ll be okay.”

  “Ms. Lockwood?” the judge asked.

  “I call Mr. Stassen to the stand.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Mr. Stassen, are you a lifelong Oregonian?” Robin asked after her client was sworn.

  “I am.”

  “Where were you born?”

  “In Portland.”

  “Do your parents still live here?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you close with them?”

  “I am.”

  “Do they support your decision to go through an operation to change your sex?”

  Hennessey leaped to his feet. “Objection, hearsay and irrelevant.”

  “Sustained. Please move on, Ms. Lockwood.”

  “Very well, Your Honor. Where did you go to school?”

  “Wilson High School and the University of Oregon.”

  “What degree did you receive from the U of O?”

  “I majored in accounting.”

  “Did you graduate with honors?”

  “Yes.”

  “After you graduated, did you become a certified public accountant?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where was your first job?”

  “I was hired by the Internal Revenue Service to investigate cases of tax fraud.”

  “How long did you stay at that job?”

  “Five years.”

  “What did you do after that?”

  “I missed Oregon, so I moved home and was hired by the accounting firm where I am currently employed.”

  “At some point in your life, did you begin to feel uncomfortable as a male?”

  “Since I was little, I had the feeling that I was in the wrong body, that I should have been a girl.”

  “When did you decide to go through the procedure for gender reassignment?”

  “Three years ago.”

  “Was this decision difficult?”

  “It was a terrible time for me. I was torn apart emotionally. But I was seeing a wonderful therapist, and she put me in touch with the transgender program at the medical school, and they gave me the confidence to make my decision.”

  “Let’s turn to the events that have brought you here. On Friday, May 13, did you go to the Gold Piece?”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you dressed as a male or a female?”

  “A female.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  “I felt like a woman. Except for the operation, I am a woman, and … well, I wanted to see if the men and women at the bar would react to me as if I were a woman.”

  “Had you ever done anything like this before, going to a bar as a woman?”

  “No.”

  “How did you feel when you entered the Gold Piece?”

  “I was frightened and excited at the same time.”

  “At some point in the evening, did you initiate contact with Officer Balske?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did you do that?”

  Erika blushed. “He’s very handsome, and I was attracted to him.”

  “How did Officer Balske respond to you when you started to talk to him?”

  “I thought he was interested in me.” Erika looked down. “Of course, now I know he really wasn’t.”

  “Did you initiate a discussion about sex?”

  “Yes.�
��

  “Why?”

  “I wanted to see if he was attracted to me enough to want to have sex.”

  “Did he appear to be interested in that way?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you turn the conversation to oral sex?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  Erika’s embarrassment was evident. “It was the only way I could do it. I couldn’t let him see that I … that my genitals … I was afraid he might hit me if he knew…”

  “Do you want some water?” Robin asked. “Do you need a short break?”

  Erika shook her head. “No, please, I just want to finish this.”

  “Okay,” Robin said. “Please tell the jury whether you ever asked Officer Balske to pay you for sex.”

  Erika took a deep breath and looked directly at the jury. “I didn’t want money. I wouldn’t have taken any money. That’s not why I wanted to … to do it. I make a good living. Fifty dollars wouldn’t mean anything to me. I just wanted to know if he thought I was attractive enough to want me.”

  “No further questions.”

  Hennessey strutted over to the witness-box and stared at Erika for a moment before beginning to question her. Erika tried to look Hennessey in the eye, but she broke eye contact. Hennessey smiled at this minor victory.

  “Now, Mr. Stassen, didn’t Officer Balske tell you that he had paid fifty dollars for oral sex?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the next thing you did was invite him into the alley next to the parking lot, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “When he agreed, you expected him to give you fifty dollars, didn’t you?”

  “No. I didn’t ask him for money.”

  “You claim that you went to the Gold Piece because you wanted to see if you would be accepted as a woman. Right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Wouldn’t getting paid by a man for sex make you feel that Officer Balske saw you as a woman?”

  “I told you, I wasn’t interested in the money. I have a good job. It pays well. I didn’t think about the fifty dollars. It wasn’t important.”

  Hennessey pounced. “But your job is important, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you could lose your job if you’re convicted of a crime, right?”

  “I … Yes, that could happen.”

  “And you would do anything to keep that job, wouldn’t you, including lying to this jury?”

  Hennessey made a dramatic about-face and walked back to his seat as Erika stuttered her denial.

  “Ms. Lockwood?” the judge asked.

  “Nothing further.”

  Erika walked back to her seat at the counsel table with her head down, looking like a convict on the way to the electric chair.

  “I feel sick,” she said.

  “You shouldn’t,” Robin said. “Hennessey just won the case for us.”

  “How can you say that? He made me look like a liar.”

  “No, Erika, he just told the jury that you would be fired if they convicted you, and that created more sympathy for your cause than anything I could say.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Do you have any more witnesses, Ms. Lockwood?” Judge Carasco asked.

  “Yes, Your Honor. We call Dr. Margery Langford.”

  As soon as the witness was sworn, Robin asked, “Dr. Langford, can you please give the jurors a summary of your educational background?”

  “Certainly,” Langford said before turning toward the jurors and smiling. “I received my bachelor of science in biology, with a minor in psychology, from Oregon State University. I received a doctorate in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. Then I participated in the postdoctoral program at the Veterans Administration in Portland, where I specialized in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

  “Thank you. At some point, did you develop an interest in helping men and women with gender identity problems?”

  “I did.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “I’d had a few patients at the VA who were experiencing gender confusion, so I started researching the area. Near the end of my stay at the VA, I saw an ad for a psychologist that had been posted by the Transgender Health Program at the Oregon Health & Science University. I applied and was hired.”

  “Do you know Eric Stassen?”

  “I do, and I prefer to refer to her as Erika for professional reasons.”

  “Can you explain your decision to the jurors?”

  “Erika was born male and was named Eric, but he never felt comfortable as a male. It was very difficult for him to make the decision to change his gender expression. Once he did, he began referring to himself as a woman, and he has taken many difficult steps to get to the point of physically and psychologically becoming a woman.”

  “Can you tell the jury about those difficult steps?”

  “I can.” Dr. Langford turned to the jurors. “One step was coming out to his parents, friends, and coworkers. You can imagine how embarrassing and anxiety producing that was. Then Erika worked with me and the team at OHSU and began her gender transition during a two-year period. During this time, Erika dressed as a woman at work, at social gatherings, went grocery shopping dressed as a woman, and had to endure some pointed questions and a lot of abuse associated with this.

  “Erika also underwent hormone replacement therapy, therapy to change her voice, and experienced laser hair removal, which is painful, lengthy, and expensive. After going through all that, I feel Eric has earned the right to be called Erika.”

  “What are the final steps a man takes when he transitions into being a female?”

  “He may undergo thyroid cartilage reduction surgery to reduce the size of his Adam’s apple, undergo breast implants, and endure face feminization surgery. Finally, Erika is planning to undergo a surgical procedure called a vaginoplasty that will remove his male genitalia and create female genitals. As you can imagine, this is expensive and not a lot of fun.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Langford. Now, are you aware that Erika had been charged with committing the crime of prostitution, which requires the State to prove that she offered to engage in sex with the arresting officer for money?”

  Hennessey stood up. “Despite your ruling, Your Honor, Ms. Lockwood is continuing to refer to the defendant as a female. I object and ask the court to instruct the witness and counsel to follow your prior ruling.”

  “Mr. Hennessey,” the judge said, “in light of Dr. Langford’s testimony, I am going to reverse my ruling and allow counsel and her witness to refer to the defendant with a feminine pronoun.”

  Hennessey started to argue. Then he thought better of it and sat down.

  Robin was surprised by Carasco’s ruling, but she didn’t show her feelings. Instead, she repeated the question, and Dr. Langford said she was aware of the charge.

  “How long have you treated Erika?”

  “It’s been three years.”

  “How many times a week do you and she talk?”

  “Three scheduled meetings, but she calls whenever she needs my help.”

  “You’ve heard Erika testify that she had no interest in receiving money when she volunteered to engage in sex with Officer Balske. In your expert opinion as a professional who treats men who are transitioning to being female, and as someone who has worked closely with Erika, does that sound reasonable?”

  “Definitely. Any transsexual wants to have his or her gender expression validated, and one of the best ways to do this is to have a person of the opposite sex attracted enough to want to engage in sexual relations.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Langford. No further questions.”

  “Dr. Langford, during your three years treating Mr. Stassen, have you grown to like him?” Hennessey asked when he began his cross-examination.

  “Yes. She’s very sincere about her goals and has sacrificed to reach them. I find that very admirable.”

  “You weren’t present at the
Gold Piece when this incident occurred, were you?”

  “No.”

  “So, you only have the defendant’s word that she wasn’t trading sex for money?”

  “Yes.”

  “Since you like Mr. Stassen, do you feel that you want to help him by telling this jury you believe him?”

  “Of course, but I think her explanation makes perfect sense in light of what I’ve learned about Erika during our professional relationship.”

  “Tell me, Dr. Langford, have you heard of men transitioning to women who have engaged in prostitution to validate their sexuality?”

  “I have.”

  “In fact, that’s not uncommon, is it?”

  “No.”

  “No further questions.”

  “Ms. Lockwood?” the judge asked.

  “Dr. Langford, is there a reason besides validating their gender expression that a male transitioning to a woman might engage in prostitution?”

  “Yes. Survival. It’s not easy being a transsexual in our society. As a result of prejudice, they have higher rates of unemployment and a greater risk of poverty.”

  “Does your knowledge of the reason many transgender people engage in prostitution support your belief that Erika did not engage in prostitution?”

  “Yes. She has a job that pays very well, so she has a nice home, health care, and so on. Survival is not a problem for Erika, but validating her identity is.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  The State had no rebuttal, so the judge instructed the jury after Robin and Hennessey gave their closing arguments. Robin was always nervous when the jury was out. A verdict in an MMA fight came quickly. If you or your opponent were knocked out or tapped out, the fight was over. If the bout ended with both fighters on their feet, the judge’s decision was announced within minutes. But a jury could be out for days, and Robin had learned that trying to predict how jurors would vote was a waste of time.

  Robin remembered a monthlong, multi-defendant murder case involving two gangs, extreme violence, and no light moments. Her client had the only viable defense, and some of the jurors had smiled at him on occasion. The jury was out for two days. When Robin heard some of the jurors laughing in the hall before returning with the verdict, she was certain that her client would walk. Guilty on all counts.