Chapter 63
After the luncheon recess, Judge Silverman seemed more relaxed. He even smiled to everyone as he sat down. “Your next witness, Mr. Billycan,” he said in a booming voice once the bailiff had declared the court in session.
“Yes, Your Honour, thank you. The Prosecution calls Dr. Valance to the stand.”
Dr. Valance strode to the witness stand easily, his gait as flexible as his demeanour. Well in his sixties, the surgeon appeared to be overall very content with his station in life. He was sworn in, sat down and crossed his long legs. His focused and deciphering brown eyes seemed to be made to observe and deal with the slightest details, which was, in fact, very much needed in his trade.
“Thank you, Doctor, for making the trip. And since we know that your position only allows you to stay in Washington for a couple of days, I will try to make this as short as possible.” Billycan was already near the witness when he posed his first question. “When you stated your occupation for the court just now, you said that you were a neurosurgeon with the St Paul Hospital in Vancouver, BC. How long have you been occupying this position, Doctor?”
“For about sixteen years.”
“And before that?”
“I worked out of the Calgary Hospital for about seven years before that.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Now, let’s turn to the reason that brought you to this trial. In the fall of last year, you operated on a woman who was admitted at St Paul Hospital with a bullet wound to the arm and chest, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s accurate.”
“Could you describe, as briefly as you can, the extent of the victim’s injury at the time she was brought into the operating theatre?”
By this time, everyone in court, including the judge, wondered why Billycan had not named the victim yet. This strategic manoeuvre was designed to demonstrate to the jury how the doctor had taken particular attention to this case. Billycan wanted to show that Dr Valance was a sympathetic witness, and he hoped he would give “the victim” a name before he did.
“I assume you mean when Ms. Kartz was brought in?” The judge exhaled a sigh of relief while Billycan paused and nodded almost imperceptibly before he answered the doctor’s question.
“Yes, doctor, that’s who I meant. Do you always know the people you treat personally?”
“I wouldn’t say I get to know all of them personally, no, but in such cases as that of Ms Kartz, yes I do.”
“Why did you say in such cases as that of Ms Kartz? What was so particular about her case?”
“Well, for one thing, I had never seen or even heard of a victim with such an exacted injury, and then when we went in and examined the extent of the damages to the tissues and bones surrounding the bullet’s trajectory, we were even more amazed.”
“In what way were you amazed, Doctor?”
“I could perhaps draw you a picture…? It would be easier to understand as I explain what we discovered.”
Billycan looked up at the judge. “If Your Honour doesn’t mind, we would like to bring in a drawing pad and easel to enable Doctor Valance to explain graphically what he discovered during surgery.”
“That’s fine, Mr. Billycan.” He nodded to the bailiff. “If you have the easel and writing implement ready, please bring it in, John. Thank you.”
“While the bailiff is doing that, I’ll ask you another question, Dr Valance. Would you mind telling us why a neurosurgeon would be called for a bullet wound injury—any particular reason?”
“Yes. Dr Latimer, the first attending physician, determined that the bullet had lodged itself near the spinal column after examining Ms. Kartz’s ex-rays. In such cases, and if surgery appears to be required at the time, I am usually called to attend or perform the surgery.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Billycan then turned to the bailiff who was stabilizing the easel before the witness stand. “That’s fine, thank you.” John bowed and retreated to his position on the other side of the judge’s bench. As he handed a black felt pen to the doctor, the US Attorney added, “If you could stand up, Doctor, I think it would be easier for you to trace your sketch and make it big enough for everyone in the jury to see what you’re drawing.”
“Yes, of course,” Dr Valance replied, getting up. He approached the easel, and began to draw the right side of a human body. Everyone in court appeared surprised at the ease with which the doctor manoeuvred his pen onto the paper.
“Could you describe, for the record, what you have drawn so far, Doctor?”
“Yes...” He pointed to the sketch. “This is the right side of a human torso... From the neck, the right arm, the thoracic cage limited on the left by the vertebrae, hosting the right lung, to above the waist.”
“Now could you show us what you discovered during surgery?”
Dr Valance took his pen and traced a horizontal line across the upper arm, crossing the armpit, entering the thoracic cage and stopping a half-an-inch from the spine, which he had graphically represented on the left side of the drawing. Replacing the cap over the felt tip, he described what he had drawn. When he finished, he concluded by saying, “The strange thing about the bullet’s trajectory is that it only traversed the humerus at the most solid part of the bone, into and through the deltoid tuberosity, then went through the rib cage, scraping a thin hole through the right lung before stopping millimetres from the T6 vertebrae. It was slowed down by hitting bones prior to stopping. It did not damage the right lung as extensively as one would have expected, and the victim didn’t bleed from the thoracic wound as much as she did from the hole in the upper arm.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” The US Attorney then again turned to the judge. “The Prosecution requests to introduce the drawing as evidence, marking it Exhibit 6, and tendering it to opposing counsel.”
“Very well, Mr. Billycan, so noted.”
Apparently quite impressed, as was the jury, Simmons offered no objection to admitting the drawing into evidence. He actually seemed mesmerized by it.
The doctor, meanwhile, resumed his seat and crossed his legs again. Billycan turned to him once the easel had been set aside so that the jury could view it while the doctor was still on the stand. “In your testimony you mentioned that the bullet stopped millimetres from the spinal column, is that correct?”
“Yes, it did.”
“Did you extract the bullet from the victim’s wound during the operation?”
“Yes, the assisting surgeon did, yes.”
“Do you have first knowledge of what happened to the bullet after the assisting surgeon extracted it?”
“Yes. I ordered it to be taken to the lab and to be couriered to the police forensic lab in Vancouver.”
“And to your knowledge that’s where the bullet ended up?”
“Yes, as far as I know, that’s where it was transferred.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Now if we could return to the surgery; would you explain for the court why the patient’s didn’t show any response in the lower limbs since the bullet did not actually touch the spinal column?”
The doctor appeared to be thinking how he would respond before he uttered the first word of his answer. “If I may, I should first explain that each vertebra hosts an intricate set of nerve endings, which connect to various functions of the body or limbs. In the series of thoracic vertebrae, the nerves attached to the T6 and its neighbours control most movements of the lower limbs. If something severs or damages one of these series of nerves, it affects the motion of the legs. Such as in this case, the bullet only damaged the vertebra superficially, but severed several nerve sections before stopping where it did, causing the patient to lose all motor movements in her legs.”
“Thank you, Doctor. That was very clear. Now, one more question; were you able to repair the damage to the vertebra or nerves at the time of the operation?”
“As usual in such instances, we couldn’t repair any damages to either vertebra or nerves, no.”
“Why was that, Doctor??
??
“Because of the swelling around the wound. We had to wait until the swelling went down before we could repair the damages.”
“And did you repair the damages at one point?”
“Yes, we did, this spring, yes.”
“And during the first operation, were you able to repair any other of the patient’s injuries?”
“Yes, absolutely. The patient was able to use her right arm after appropriate recuperation, and never lost the use of her right lung. The ribs that had been damaged healed themselves over time under care.”
“Thank you, Doctor. You’ve been most helpful.” Billycan turned to the judge. “Your Honour, I have no more question for this witness, but would like to reserve the right to recall him at a later time.”
“So noted, Mr. Billycan.” He looked over his glasses at the defence attorney. “Mr. Simmons, your witness.”
“We have no question for this witness at this time, Your Honour.”
“Very well then.” The judge turned to the surgeon. “You may step down, Doctor. We will advise you as soon as your presence in court is required again.”
“Thank you, Your Honour, my pleasure.” Dr. Valance then stood up, stepped off the witness stand and strode out of the courtroom as flexibly as he had come in.