Deadlock (41 page)

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Friday, December 3

The Supreme Court’s 4–4 deadlock in an abortion rights case earlier this week raises serious issues of national policy, experts say. What is baffling, leading court watchers note, is that the Court announced its decision in
Sherman v. National Parental Planning Group
by way of a short,
per curiam
opinion, meaning it came from the Court as a whole with no individual justice signing an opinion.

“It’s obvious one of the justices refused to rule,” said Yale Law Professor Lawrence I. Graebner, who argued on behalf the NPPG before the high court. “Frankly, I can’t imagine which justice would do that. What’s worse is that this leaves the door open to a possible rollback of
Roe v. Wade
sometime in the future. I’m very troubled.”

The court’s decision has no national effect. It leaves in place the decision of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals which had remanded the case for trial.

“This is a victory for the one who counts most, Sarah Mae Sherman,” said Millicent Mannings Hollander, the former chief justice who argued Sherman’s case before her one-time colleagues. “She will have her day in court, and the NPPG will be held accountable for its actions.”

Speaking by phone from her office in Santa Lucia, California, Hollander added, “The larger debate must also continue. We now have an opportunity to engage in a new national discussion about what’s best for us as a nation of laws.”

Helen Forbes Kensington, president of the National Parental Planning Group, could not be reached for comment.

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“Who do you think it was?” Jack Holden said.

“I have a feeling,” Millie answered.

They were outside on the basketball court behind the church. The warm winter had preserved the wildflowers of the Santa Lucia valley, and today they seemed to have dropped directly from the palette of God.

Across the valley the sleeping giant was still flat on his back. Sometimes, as a girl, Millie had wondered what would happen if the giant suddenly woke up, stood, and made his way toward the town. How would the people react? Would they run, or would they welcome him as an old friend?

Then she wondered — if enough people awoke from their moral slumbers and began to return to the true source of all law, what would the rest of the country do? Scream? Or recognize a forgotten friend? She knew much of her future work was going to be tied up with those questions.

The partnership of Hollander & Wilkes had made national news with the Sherman case. The
Washington Post
ran a piece entitled “From Big Time to Small Town.” But the partnership did not feel small to Millie. It felt perfectly woven into the tapestry of her life.

“So who?” Jack said, bouncing the ball in front of him with staccato impatience.

“Thomas J. Riley,” she said.

“Riley? No way. Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know. To give the debate back to the people, maybe. I do know Tom loves the Court as much as I do, and has a deep well of integrity. I know he believes that sign on his desk.
Vincit omnia veritas.
Truth conquers all things.”

Jack thought a moment. “So he was the judicial hero you quoted in your argument?”

Millie nodded.

Jack bounced the ball a few more times. “Do
you
believe truth conquers all?”

“I believe a lot of things I didn’t used to. For instance, I believe God weaves patterns.”

“I do too,” Jack said. He held the ball. Then he smiled. “Maybe,” he added, “part of the reason this all happened was so you could come back to Santa Lucia and marry me.”

He bounced the ball once, as if to create an exclamation point. Then he waited for a response.

Millie felt a gust of desert air, pure and clean. She was back home, but Santa Lucia was not the place it once was. The past, with all its hurts and confusions, had somehow faded, like an old sepia-toned photograph left out in the sun. The place where she was living now was new; it gave her the feeling of starting over.

But with a minister? As a wife? What sort of pattern was
this?

“Tell you what,” Millie said, her heart beginning to dance. “You make a ten-foot hook shot, and I’ll consider it.”

The preacher’s smile widened as he turned toward the basket.

“Right-handed,” Millie said.

Jack pointed at her. “No problem.”

He bounced the ball a couple of times, looked at the basket, then launched his shot into the air. It arced beautifully, then hit the front of the rim and clanked out.

Jack stood there, frozen, as if couldn’t believe he’d missed.

“Good thing we’ve got all day,” Millie said.

This novel would not have been possible without the help of many special people.

Professor John Eastman of Chapman University School of Law, former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, walked me through much of the Supreme Court’s day-to-day operations as well as many of the legal aspects of the novel. One of the “smart guys,” he is a credit to his students, his school, and the enterprise of American law. Any mistakes that appear in the book are mine alone.

On the issue of the role of the Declaration of Independence in modern Constitutional jurisprudence, I am indebted to one of my old law professors, Ronald Garet, of the law school at the University of Southern California. His insights were invaluable, and he continues to challenge his students to think about the law from a moral and religious angle, and not merely as a high-paying profession.

Profound thanks for their time and knowledge go to my colleagues and friends Randy Alcorn, Terri Blackstock, Mel and Cheryl Hodde, and Angela Elwell Hunt.

I owe a huge debt to my editor, Dave Lambert. Dave knows whereof he speaks when it comes to fiction, so when he spoke (or, rather, issued one of his famous “Dave letters”) I listened. His insights made this a better book. Thanks, Dave.

Sue Brower, and indeed the entire team at Zondervan, are likewise a pleasure to work with. I’m honored to be part of their list.

As always, my first editor was my wife, Cindy, who is everything a husband — especially the pesky writing kind — could hope for. My children, Nathaniel and Allegra, have also come to accept that their father is a writer with certain odd quirks, and love me anyway. I couldn’t ask for better support than that.

I consulted dozens of resources in the research phase of the book. The Ohio case mentioned in the novel is based upon an actual decision of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a superb opinion by the Honorable David A. Nelson, Circuit Judge. The main issue of this book is also as stated by Judge Nelson: “We might wish that the framers of the Constitution had chosen to give us the powers of a council of revision,” he wrote, “but they did not do so.” Which means we must continue to grapple with the proper role of judges in our Constitutional system.

That issue is fully and fairly explored in
A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law
by Justice Antonin Scalia (Princeton University Press, 1997). This is an exchange between Justice Scalia and four distinguished critics, including Harvard’s Lawrence H. Tribe. For further discussion, the interested party should not neglect
The Tempting of America: The Political Seduction of the Law
by Robert H. Bork (Free Press, 1990).

For those who desire a picture of the Supreme Court from the ultimate insider, I cannot recommend highly enough
The Supreme Court
by William H. Rehnquist (Knopf, 2001). It is a warm tribute to the Court, detailed and well written. For those who want to analyze a view of the Court from the other side of the political spectrum, see
Closed Chambers: The Rise, Fall, and Future of the Modern Supreme Court
by Edward Lazarus (Penguin, 1998).

Bill Bonassi’s quotations from Jefferson, Madison, and John Adams, and his discussion of biblical metaphysics as part of the American Constitutional fabric, are taken from Michael Novak’s
On Two Wings: Humble Faith and Common Sense at the American Founding
(Encounter Books, 2002). This is a brilliant and scholarly review of the founders’ system of political belief. Not many books can be considered so authoritative that they should be required reading for every American citizen. Novak’s is one of them.

“Once the heart hears the music it is never really happy unless it is dancing.” That insight comes from Robert Benson’s book
Living Prayer,
which I highly recommend to all seekers of the open door.

The issues surrounding abortion continue, of course, to divide our nation. David Pollock, Executive Director of the Pregnancy Resource Center of the San Fernando Valley, was an incredible help on this topic. Others who offered insights on the legal, moral, and medical aspects of abortion procedures were Dr. David C. Reardon of the Elliott Institute; Kurt Entsminger, Esq., Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Care Net; and Dr. Kari Scott, M.D. I regret that my attempts to secure interviews with leading abortion rights spokespersons did not meet with more success. William Lutz, media relations contact for the National Abortion Rights Action League, did give me an overview of NARAL’s position on informed consent laws. I also turned to a good deal of the abortion rights groups’ publicly disseminated material, much of it online. Please note that the National Parental Planning Group is a fictional entity, and any resemblance to an actual organization or clinic is purely coincidental.

On the political side of the abortion debate, I am grateful for time and information from the following: Rep. Bob Shaffer of Colorado, his press secretary William Mutch, and his chief legislative assistant Erika Lestelle; Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and his press secretary Gabe Neville.

Finally, heartfelt thanks to my church family, who continue to support me with their prayers, encouragement, and good fellowship.

About the Publisher

Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best–selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products, and award–winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (
www.zondervan.com
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