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“Oh, there are many, many ways around that rule, as you should well know, especially when I told you yesterday that these discussions were not confidential; that Rigby, Thompson and Associates’ role here is that of an observer, and not as a mediator; and when your lawyer explicitly agreed to those conditions,” Ms. Dixon said.

I was shocked when the conference room became silent. With this many lawyers in one place, I didn’t think that was possible. Ms. Dixon would explain to me later that facts disclosed in the course of settlement negotiations typically were inadmissible to prove liability or to show that someone was lying on the stand. Even though that was the rule, there were several ways to get around it. For example, it wouldn’t prevent discovery of the same documents in the normal course of a lawsuit. Nor would it prevent such facts being used to show improper interference in a police investigation, which one might easily argue Cal had done here. Most important to Rigby, Thompson, Cal, and Mr. Fox, we could disclose everything to the media, because such disclosures would have nothing to do with admissibility in a court of law. They had to realize the media would have a field day with it.

Ms. Dixon reached out for a stack of documents and handed one to Cal.

“I am hereby serving upon you a subpoena duces tecum, requiring you to produce any and all documents in your possession relating to David’s accounts with Rigby, Thompson and Associates, and including specifically any documents printed out from his files and removed from Rigby, Thompson and Associates’ offices. The subpoena covers any documents in Mr. Fox’s possession as well. Next, you are hereby served with a Temporary Restraining Order preventing you or your attorney from altering or destroying any such documents, as well as any documents relating to the allegations of rape made against David. It also restrains you from disclosing that information in any way to third parties, and from using those documents or the information contained therein in any way. Including, for example, having your lawyer send mail to the private offices of college personnel who have been recruiting David, and trying to persuade them they should not recruit an alleged and, it turns out, falsely accused, rapist.”

“How did you get all this done so quickly?” Cal asked in shock.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and she would have had to have prepared the documents, found a way to see the judge between the time she left us yesterday and now (likely at his home), and gotten him to sign the TRO and order a hearing.

“There are some benefits to being a United States senator’s daughter, and there are even more benefits to having a reputation for integrity, and for being really, really good,” Ms. Dixon said with a smile. “It may also be that the judge was upset with the less-than-completely-candid-and-forthright actions of you and your counsel in persuading him to sign the TRO against David last week; but then again, I didn’t ask.”

Then she looked directly at Mr. Fox and continued.

“Oh, yes. One exhibit to the Motion for the TRO is a copy of Mr. Fox’s letter to one of the college coaches recruiting David. It was mailed last Monday to that coach’s office address. The exhibit is supported by an affidavit from the coach, stating his office address is unknown to any persons other than his college’s personnel department, and that David is the only person that he’s ever recruited who has been given that address. All the coaches’ mailing addresses are the same: a generic address for the football program is listed in all publications, but the private office addresses are never disclosed, as a matter of school policy. The affidavit also states David had told him he doubted he’d ever need that address, but that David would have his agent file it away just in case."

“As I recall, the letter in question did indeed attempt to persuade the coach that he should stop recruiting an accused rapist. That exhibit might have caused the judge’s eyebrows to go up a bit as well, now that I think on it,” Ms. Dixon said with a grin.

Cal and Mr. Fox both looked a bit sick when they heard that. She then turned to Don Rigby and handed him another stack of documents. He didn’t look much better.

“A similar subpoena and TRO are hereby served on your firm, requiring similar production and preservation of records. An expedited hearing on making these temporary orders a permanent injunction is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10:00 in Judge Hitchens’ courtroom, which is in the County Courthouse, Room 203. The courtroom is a public venue at which the media is allowed to be present. If this is not resolved today, you can bet it will be brought up at that hearing, and we will oppose any suggestion that the hearing be a closed one.”

Ms. Dixon then pulled out another stack of documents and handed a set to Mr. Fox and Mr. Rigby.