chair. He rested his elbows on the armrests and tapped his fingertips together. His eyebrows knit together in thought.
Caroline held her breath until her pulse throbbed in her ears.
“First, let me thank you for an excellent presentation today,” the judge began. “It was quite informative. I admit, I came here inclined to rule against the plaintiffs. As defense counsel has correctly and eloquently explained, the science described in the plaintiffs’ Daubert brief does not draw a direct link between SuperSoy and kidney damage.”
Caroline resisted the urge to blurt, “What about Heller?” In a series of methodical studies, the Heller article illustrated the connection between SuperSoy and kidney failure. Surely, the judge had seen that.
Judge Jacobsen held up a ream of stapled pages. “I had actually prepared a tentative decision barring all claims on the grounds that the science didn’t establish a link to kidney injury. While plaintiffs have showed that an inferential link may exist, I did not find that inferential link sufficiently compelling for the SuperSoy cases to go forward. I recognize that the Heller article is persuasive authority that there may, in fact, be such a direct link. The problem I’m having, however, is that the article was late produced and was not peer reviewed.”
The judge paused. He gently placed his tentative decision down beside his tablet.
Caroline’s stomach twisted. Her temples throbbed with tension. This was it.
“The arguments today have persuaded me that I should not be hasty in dismissing the Heller article. As plaintiffs’ counsel has correctly noted, that article is remarkable in several respects, including its sample size and consistency of results.” Judge Jacobsen paused again, and Caroline worried her heart might stop beating before he reached his ruling.
Finally, the judge exhaled like a man who had thought he’d reached the peak of a mountain only to find there were miles left to climb.
“Before I can determine whether and how to weigh Heller in my consideration, I need an understanding of why it wasn’t submitted for peer review or published. I also need to understand where Heller fits into the other published science. I’m deferring ruling on the Daubert motion. I’d like to talk directly to all of the scientists of the articles you’ve cited. Subpoena them. Get them out here. I’ll see you in one week. You’ll have my ruling at that time.”
With a sharp crack, Judge Jacobsen hit his gavel, and the hearing ended.
“That was amazing,” Anton Callisto crowed. His usually taciturn face creased into a grin of underused smile lines. Behind him, the rest of the plaintiffs’ attorneys agreed in a chorus of approving sounds. They clustered around Caroline, seeing her with new eyes. Or maybe seeing her at all for the first time.
“Thanks,” Caroline said. In the wake of the argument, her teeth chattered, an electric humming coursing through her nervous system. It felt good. So did the attention of the Steering Committee. She felt like a lightning rod instead of a lawn gnome.
Even Dale looked relieved.
“We lived to fight another day, y’all,” he said to everyone and no one. Another murmur of agreement coursed through the pack of plaintiffs’ attorneys.
From the corner of her eye, Caroline spotted Jasper. He stood at the back of the courtroom, by the door. When he saw her notice him, he held up one thumb. Despite the approving gesture, his face still held the same pinched and worried expression it always seemed to hold. She knew the reason. He knew as well as she did that they hadn’t won this thing yet.
“Can you come back here in a week to examine the scientists?” Paul Tiller asked, his cherubic face cracking into a likable smile.
Behind him, the rest of the Steering Committee nodded emphatically in agreement. All was forgiven of Dale, but they wouldn’t soon let him argue again.
“Sure,” Caroline said, despite the fact that she’d only conducted a cross-examination within the safe confines of law school. After seeing Dale flub the argument, she no longer believed she was unqualified to step in. At least she knew she’d study. She wasn’t so sure about the next guy anymore. Especially if that next guy was Dale.
Louis wove his way toward Caroline until he stood beside her.
“If you don’t mind,” he said to the assembled lawyers, “I’m going to take my star associate here out for lunch.”
As the members of the Steering Committee stepped aside, Caroline couldn’t suppress the grin that spread on her face. Whatever disappointment Louis had felt in her for befriending Eddie had been obliterated by