Baby Vs. The Bar. M.J. Rodgers

his grandson’s sperm and give birth to David’s child.”

      “And when Mr. Demerchant brought in this woman for artificial insemination, what happened?”

      Binick’s tongue slithered over his lips. “We couldn’t locate David Demerchant’s sperm tube.”

      “You lost this sperm you were supposed to be safeguarding?”

      “I’ve been in business for more than ten years without a mistake. I’ve set up a very specific procedure. I have a double-numbering system. Color-coded tubes. Cross-system checks.”

      “But you still lost David Demerchant’s sperm, yes or no?”

      Binick sank farther into the chair. “Yes.”

      “Mr. Binick, what did you tell your lab technician to do when you discovered you had lost David’s sperm?”

      “I wasn’t serious.”

      “Mr. Binick, please answer the question. What did you tell your lab technician to do?”

      “I said something about substituting anonymous donor sperm in place of David’s lost sperm. But it was only a joke! I didn’t know she’d take me seriously.”

      “Only a joke? Mr. Binick, didn’t you in fact order your lab technician to quickly find an anonymous donor sperm that could pass as David Demerchant’s?”

      Binick’s tongue flicked between his thin lips. “She misunderstood me, I tell you. The woman has no sense of humor.”

      “Mr. Binick, the surrogate mother was waiting in the receiving room. Louie Demerchant was outside in the waiting room. You had just found out you lost his grandson’s sperm, sperm that could never be replaced. And you felt this was an appropriate time for jokes?”

      Binick slithered farther into his chair. “I made an error in judgment. I’m sorry. I meant no harm. I tell you, it was only a joke.”

      He was so clearly lying. Marc could see it and he knew the jury could see it, too. He stared at his witness to allow the jury’s full loathing to come to a boil before going on.

      “After you made this joke to the lab technician to substitute other sperm for David Demerchant’s, what did the lab technician do?”

      “She went into the waiting room and told Louie Demerchant we had lost his grandson’s sperm and that I had told her to substitute someone else’s sperm.”

      “So you didn’t get away with your scheme to pass off someone else’s child as Louie Demerchant’s grandchild, did you?”

      “There was no scheme! I tell you, it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding!”

      “Mr. Binick, did you ever find out what happened to David Demerchant’s missing sperm?”

      “Yes, it had been destroyed.”

      “You destroyed David’s sperm?”

      “Not me, one of my employees!” Binick’s raspy voice protested, a thin line of sweat breaking out on his brow.

      Typical Binick. Trying to put the blame on anyone and everyone but himself.

      “Mr. Binick, would you please explain to this court how your company destroyed the sperm David Demerchant had entrusted to you for safekeeping?”

      Binick’s visibly sweaty hands rubbed the chair’s upholstered arms. “Our computer form has just one space for a client’s name.”

      “And what is the significance of your computer form having just one space for a client’s name?”

      “Louie Demerchant’s name went on the computer records for sperm preservation instead of David’s, because it was Louie who called to set up the appointments and insisted on paying for the sperm’s storage. He never should have done that!”

      “Mr. Binick, are you trying to tell this court that it was Louie Demerchant’s fault that you destroyed his grandson’s sperm because he emphasized the importance of preserving it and paid you to do so?”

      Binick sank some more in the witness chair. “No, I...no.”

      “So what happened when David Demerchant later came in and left his sperm deposits for safekeeping, his insurance against an unforeseen future?”

      “David Demerchant entered his name on our questionnaire along with his background statistics. The technician ran a computer search. When he found nothing under David Demerchant’s name, he set up a new computer file, number-coded his sperm for confidentiality and placed David Demerchant’s sperm in the donor pool storage receptacle.”

      “The donor pool? It was doled out?”

      “It wasn’t my mistake!”

      “All this happened because there weren’t separate lines on the computer form for payee’s name and donor’s name, is that right?”

      “Yes.”

      “And who made this determination that there should only be one line and not two?”

      By now, Binick’s long scaly face was shiny with his nervous perspiration. He drew out a tissue from his pocket and started blotting. “It would have cost more money to have added another line.”

      “So it was your decision to pinch pennies instead of providing adequate space on your computer form?”

      “I object to that unfair characterization, Your Honor,” Sato said.

      “Sustained,” the judge ruled. “No editorials, counselor.”

      “I’ll rephrase,” Marc responded. “Mr. Binick, was it your decision to restrict space on your computer form, an action that caused David Demerchant’s sperm to be doled out to your clients instead of preserved?”

      “We didn’t just dole it out! We kept track of who got whose sperm and how well the sperm did. When none of the first six women we inseminated with David Demerchant’s sperm conceived, we rechecked it and found that its motility was impaired so it was withdrawn from donor status.”

      “Let’s take this one step at a time, Mr. Binick. Did you or did you not make the decision about the space on the computer form?”

      “I—”

      “Yes or no, Mr. Binick.”

      Binick sank even more in his chair, looking like he wished he could slither beneath it. “Yes.”

      “Now, would you please explain to this jury in common, everyday language what you mean by the motility of David’s sperm being impaired?”

      “In order for sperm to fertilize an egg they have to be vigorous swimmers. When one of our lab technicians checked David Demerchant’s sperm, she found they were lazy and did not meet the high standards we uphold at Bio-Sperm.”

      “Are you trying to tell this court that David Demerchant’s sperm could not have produced a child?”

      “His sperm were mobile enough for conception, given time. It’s just that our clients pay for each insemination attempt, and they become impatient when nothing is immediately forthcoming. So we try to provide them with only very vigorous sperm to speed up their becoming pregnant. Which is why when we discovered the motility problem, we removed David Demerchant’s storage tubes from the donor storage receptacle.”

      “You mean you destroyed his sperm,” Marc repeated for emphasis.

      “Yes.”

      “You destroyed David Demerchant’s sperm, sperm you were supposed to be holding for him to insure his progeny?”

      “I—”

      “Yes or no, Mr. Binick?”

      Binick’s eyes flitted to the jury, then back to Marc. His tongue darted out nervously. “Yes.”