Fatal Convictions

5

Kendall Spears could have landed a job at the Atlantic Surf Shop with no problem. He was tall with thick black hair, deep-set eyes, and a chiseled jaw. He wore a Brooks Brothers suit. He was a rising star in a large downtown Norfolk firm. He spoke in a rich, bass voice.

If Kendall Spears was anything, he was smooth.

“Airline pilots wear uniforms. So do gymnasts, basketball players, Olympic swimmers, and Supreme Court justices.

“Every hospital and fast-food restaurant in America has hygiene standards, or at least they ought to. And who wants to go to Radio City Music Hall and see Rockettes who weigh two hundred pounds? This case isn’t about whether companies can have dress codes or body-weight standards or other policies about how their employees present themselves. This case is supposed to be about whether Atlantic Surf Shop can reasonably accommodate Ms. Hajjar’s sincerely held religious beliefs without undue hardship.”

Kendall took a sideways step and fired up his own PowerPoint. “To answer that question, we need to understand the plaintiff’s sincerely held religious beliefs. So I asked her some questions about those beliefs during her deposition.”

For the next few minutes, the jury watched a video of Aisha’s deposition, in which she explained the reasons she wore a hijab. She talked about modesty and honoring her parents and her religious traditions. She talked about not wanting to attract the wrong kind of men. She talked about being willing to stand up for her faith even when others ridiculed her.

It was, Alex thought, very compelling testimony. He had been proud of Aisha three weeks ago when he had defended her deposition. But as he watched her now, he had a sick feeling bubbling up in his stomach. Opposing lawyers didn’t show your client’s best answers unless they had something up their sleeve.

Alex slid to the edge of his seat, ready to object.

“Frankly, it all sounded pretty compelling,” Kendall said, “until I went to her Facebook page.”

Alex felt his heart skip a beat. Her Facebook page! Why hadn’t he checked that?

“This is a picture that one of her high school friends tagged,” Kendall explained. It showed Aisha and two of her friends at the beach in bikinis. Aisha’s was orange and skimpy and looked like it might be a size too small. A small tattoo peeked out on her left hip. The next picture was a close-up of her head. “You’ll notice that she’s not wearing a head scarf,” Kendall said, suppressing a grin. “And not much else either, for that matter.”

A few of the jurors snickered, and Alex knew he was toast. He would have a few minutes to try to rescue this case during rebuttal. But right now, he couldn’t think of a thing to say.

“I ask you,” Kendall continued as the camera zoomed back out, “does this look like someone who has a sincerely held religious belief that she must be covered from head to toe? Or does this look like someone who has a sincerely held belief that she might be able to cash in on the Atlantic Surf Shop Look Policy?”