Jeanne Marie Laskas - Concussion

T he prosecutor approaches the witness box. Hes all in gray, beautifully tailored, sleek as a dolphin, cuff links, a half Windsor knot. One thing Bennet appreciates about the American legal system is that the attorneys always dress impeccably like this. The same cannot be said, by the way, about scientists. Half of why he couldnt survive academia was because of the sartorial slobbery. Shirttails hanging out, moccasins, saggy-ass jeans. It was too much.

Good morning, Doctor.

Good morning, sir.

Doctor, would you please state your name for the members of the jury?

My name is Bennet Omalu, B-E-N-N-E-T, Omalu, O-M-A-L-U.

Already the jurors are exchanging glances. What did he say? His accent is thick. He needs to enunciate or something.

Dr. Omalu, Im going to ask you to speak into the microphone so all the members of the jury will be able to hear you. If youll wait for just a moment, Ill give you a bottle of water.

He waits for the water. The whites of his eyes pop like flashbulbs. His face is round, a perfect circle, like a smiley-face button on a teenagers backpack. It might make him appear calmer than he is. Does he appear calm? Thank you, thank you. He tries to appear calm. He is almost never calm. He is a man who thinks in double exclamation points. Excitable!! Everyone tells him he looks much younger than his thirty-nine years. Maybe because hes short, hell say. Hes short because they didnt have much of anything to feed him during the war, hell joke. Its not a joke, actually. His sisters think its funny. Anyway, he likes it when people say he looks young. Also he likes to talk about himself. Im a Christian. Im a humble man. I surrender to Gods mercy and love. Theres an inwardness about him, but also a happy-go-lucky veneer of innocence.

He twists the cap off the bottle of water, sips.

Honestly, right now he wouldnt mind a cigarette. He hasnt smoked in years, hasnt even thought about it, but right now a cigarette might be a terrific help. Cigarettes and kola nuts were how he survived the stress of med school. The green nuts, he broke them with his thumbs, plucked the fleshy lobes, and chewed them like taffy. There is no quicker kick of caffeine than the one a man gets from kola nuts. His father and everyone in the village in Nigeria, they thought the nuts were holy. His father in his tall red hat, three feathers standing high as if touching the spirit world, saying the Ibo blessing: Ihe d mma onye nach, ga-af ya. Whatever good he is looking for, he will see it. The men washing fingers, peanut butter dip, prayers, elders in robes.

Bennet doesnt miss any of that business. Honestly, none of it. He never wanted anything to do with those tedious old-world village rituals. He would be a man of his time. In America. Everything back home in Nigeria was about busting loose from the pettiness, the corruption, the wicked tendencies of man.

Now hes in America, in 2008, stuck in a boiling hot courtroom in Pittsburgh, and it feels like everything is once again about busting loose from the pettiness, the corruption, and the wicked tendencies of man. The irony is not lost on him. Thank you, God. Im grateful you got me to America. I am truly grateful. But the irony is not lost on me.

Dr. Omalu, the lawyer says, would you tell the members of the jury, please, how you are currently employed?

Im the chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County in the central wine valley region of California, he says, turning then to the court reporter with that super-straight posture, typing madly. S-A-N J-O-A-Q-U-I-N, he says.

How long have you been the chief medical examiner in San Joaquin?

My official appointment started September 1, 2007.

Can you tell us, please, where San Joaquin County is located, give us a sense of where it is on the map?

Its about one hour east of San Francisco and about forty-five minutes south of Sacramento, which is the capital of the state of California. Its located in the central wine valley. In San Joaquin. We produce the Zinfandel. Zinfandel red wineZinfandel grapes. You find wine in San Joaquin

Oh my God, shut up about the wine! What are you, the Chamber of Commerce? That was so stupid. Hes nervous. Hes so angry. He does not want to be here. He looks down, taps his feet together, reaches down to yank at one sock, then the other, wipes a speck of dust off his shiny new shoe.

He got these shoes for the trial. Black cap-toe oxfords, shiny as tar. He wanted them wider. He told the guy, he said, wider? The guy said no, theyll stretch. But theyre not stretching. Tight, like a band across the cuneiform bones, the cuboid bone, the navicular bone. Everything feels so tight, oh my gosh! His collar. The span of pin-striped wool across his back. Everything should not feel so tight. Hes testified in court hundreds of times; hes gotten guys off death row, for Gods sake. A courtroom is not unfamiliar territoryand this courtroom specifically, in Pittsburgh, this is the one he knows best. This is where he used to live. This is where he made his mark. He needs to just calm himself down and remember he is here because he has to be, not because he wants to be. Bennet, you are a child of God doing your imperfect best in an imperfect world.

Dr. Omalu, the prosecutor says, how long have you been living in the United States, sir, either as a student or working as a professional?

I came to the United States in October 1994.