At the end of a long workday, I watched the last plaintiff come to the podium. On my right, her boy and girl wandered into the courtroom, hovering on the sidelines, looking out the window, listening, turning their backs to us, as if by making us invisible to them, they were making themselves invisible to us. I thought they wanted to hear her tell their story. They were restless, and so was I. The baby settled in her mother’s left arm, and its neck relaxed backward over her elbow, drifting to sleep. And her story, which had been closeted and contained for so long, began to unfold.
May 12, 2026 11:37 AM CDT
