Deposition: a curious word meaning to remove from office or a position of power and/or testimony under oath—a written statement by a witness for use in court in his absence.
Deposition: I think of suing my father to prove that he is my father and just the phrasing—suing my father to prove that he is my father—has the equally surreal echo of the moment my mother told me that my mother was dead. Suing my father—I picture the papers being filed, a summons served telling him to appear at a certain place at a certain time. I imagine there being a man, a stranger to both of us, someone hired to do the job, to ask the questions.
Mr. Hecht, before we begin I would like to remind you that the length of a deposition is limited to seven hours a day, over the course of however many days it takes to do the kind of call-and-response, asking of questions, related to the actions and activities of the last forty-four years—that’s how old she is now, the infant in question.
Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 26—Discovery. We will be asking you, the deposed, to provide a copy of your birth certificate and a copy of the DNA test that you and Ms. Homes jointly participated in. Given that a potential witness is anyone who has information relevant to the issues of a lawsuit or who has information that may lead to relevant information, we will also call your wife and your children. Unlike a trial, where a judge can rule on objections, at a deposition lawyers can ask irrelevant questions and inquire into hearsay.
Is all of this clear?
Have you ever had your deposition taken before?
Do you understand that you are under oath—sworn to tell the truth?
Are you prepared to answer my questions?
Is there anything about your physical state—are you taking any medications that will prevent you from giving me complete and truthful answers?
If you need to take a break at any time, let me know.
What is your full name?
Your place and date of birth?
Your parents’ names and places and dates of birth?
Mr. Hecht, can you tell me why are we here today? Is there a particular issue?
In 1993 you asked Ms. Homes to participate in a DNA blood test that would genetically compare DNA samples from both you and Ms. Homes to prove that in fact you are her father. And the result of that test showed that it was 99.9 percent likely that you are her father, and recently when she requested a copy of that test from you, you declined to provide it—is that correct?
You asked Ms. Homes to participate in the test, but you don’t believe you should both have access to the results. Why is that?
You participated equally?
You paid for the test, Mr. Hecht—actually you had some trouble paying for the test, didn’t you? You scheduled the appointment for the test in July of 1993, Ms. Homes traveled from New York to Washington and met you at the lab, but you didn’t have the right kind of payment, the right kind of check—and you had to go back again the next day?
At the time you scheduled the test, Ms. Homes offered to pay for the test as well or split the cost with you?
Now, if it is all about the money—the costs associated with this meeting here today are in excess of the charges for the test. So perhaps this is not about money?
How would you describe yourself, Mr. Hecht?
Would you describe yourself as a family man?
Is there more to you than that—than just a retired businessman?
Are you close to your family?
Do you go to church?
You have a son who shares your name—what does that name mean to you?
What is your identity, Mr. Hecht?
Did you always know who you were?
Have you ever been arrested?
Been charged with a crime?
For the record, can you tell us about any and all claims, lawsuits, that you’ve been involved in over the years?
What was your age and place of first employment?
And your last—were you fired, or asked to step down?
Did you feel any personal responsibility?
Do you think of yourself as someone who gets things done?
Has anyone ever called you a big shot?
Do you think you’re an average man?
Same level of ambition as your peers?
Did you graduate from college?
Were you in the army? Ever kill anyone?
Where did you grow up, Mr. Hecht?
How would you describe your childhood?
Who raised you?
How was it that you lived with your grandparents—where were your mother and father?
How did your parents meet?
What did your father do for a living?
How would you describe your relationship with your father?
Were you close?
Did he love you?
Do you think it’s true that boys are closer to their mothers, and girls to their fathers?
Are you proud of your family history?
Involved in any lineage organizations?
What clubs are you a member of?
Have you ever wanted to join a club and not been allowed in?
What kind of name is “Hecht”?
Was your father Jewish?
Was he raised in a Jewish home?
Did your mother’s family consider you Jewish?
Was your father’s father a kosher butcher?
Why did your paternal grandmother carry a gun?
Would you describe yourself as charitable?
Do you give money to charities?
Do you give of your time and abilities?
Do you drink?
Did you ever use recreational drugs?
Ever smoke marijuana?
Ever take pills for energy?
Ever use cocaine?
Ever try Viagra?
Where did you meet your wife?
At what age were you married?
Did you engage in relations before the wedding?
Was she a virgin?
Were you?
Have you ever had a sexually transmitted disease?
When did you last have sex, Mr. Hecht?
With whom?
Would you say that you and your wife had a good sex life?
Did you and your wife ever discuss open marriage?
So, initially she didn’t know that you were having a sexual relationship with Ms. Ballman?
Was Ms. Ballman your first relationship outside your marriage, or did someone precede her?
How did your wife find out about Ms. Ballman?
Can you tell me the names of your children?
Do you know their birth dates?
Besides Ms. Homes—did you have any other children outside your marriage?
Is it possible, Mr. Hecht, that there are others?
How many relationships did you have outside your marriage?
How long did they last?
Your wife was pregnant at the same time as Ms. Ballman?
How old was Ms. Ballman when you met her?
How would you describe her physically—her appearance?
Did you know that she was a minor?
What were the circumstances of that meeting?
Were you the owner of the Princess Shop?
How long did Ms. Ballman work for you?
When did your sexual relationship begin?
What were the circumstances of that first encounter?
Was she a virgin?
Do you think your libido is average?
Was Ms. Ballman a nymphomaniac?
Was she a lesbian?
Did you once tell Ms. Homes that Ellen Ballman was a nymphomaniac and on another occasion that she was a lesbian?
Did your male friends also have girls on the side?
How many of them knew Ms. Ballman?
Did you worry that Ms. Ballman was sleeping with other men—your friends?
When your sexual relationship with Ms. Ballman began, how old was she?
What would prompt a teenage girl in the 1950s to leave her mother’s care and take up with a married man?
Did Ellen Ballman tell you that someone was molesting her?
You told Ms. Homes that Ms. Ballman told you something that would have indicated that something was happening in her mother’s home and that you probably should have listened better.
Did you take advantage of Ms. Ballman?
Did you use birth control?
Did Ms. Ballman meet your family—your mother?
Your children?
Your wife?
How did it happen that your eldest son spent time with Ms. Ballman?
When did you realize you were in love with Ms. Ballman?
So, were you or were you not in love with Ms. Ballman?
Did she believe you were in love with her?
On more than one occasion did you propose marriage?
Even though you were already married, Mr. Hecht, you proposed to Ms. Ballman when she was seventeen—you called her mother and asked for permission to marry her?
How did you think you would explain that to your wife?
Do you believe in polygamy, Mr. Hecht?
How and when did your wife find out that you and Ms. Ballman were having a relationship?
Did your wife know how old Ms. Ballman was?
And what did you say to your wife? Again I’d like to remind you that you are under oath and your wife will be answering the same question.
Did your wife contemplate divorcing you?
Is divorce in opposition to her faith?
Are you and your wife of the same faith?
Is adultery in opposition to your faith?
Are you a religious man, Mr. Hecht?
Do you believe in heaven, Mr. Hecht?
What was your nickname for Ms. Ballman?
Was “the Dragon Lady” one of them?
Where did that come from? Was it from something you shared?
Did Ms. Ballman have you arrested for deserting her?
When Ms. Ballman was pregnant, you sent her to Florida to live and said you’d be joining her there—but you never showed up?
And your wife was pregnant at the same time as Ms. Ballman?
You must have felt like an exceptionally fertile man?
Later in the pregnancy did you visit Ms. Ballman at her mother’s home?
Did you offer to take her shopping and buy things for the baby?
Did you have Ms. Ballman meet with you and your lawyer and together discuss the fact that “there are only so many slices of the pie”?
Did you ask either Ms. Ballman or your wife to consider an abortion?
Can you swim, Mr. Hecht?
I’m just wondering if at some point during all this you felt like you were going under. Drowning.
When was the last time you saw Ms. Ballman pregnant? What month was that?
How did you hear about the birth of your child with Ms. Ballman?
Were you ever asked to sign any legal documents relating to the child?
How long did your relationship with Ms. Ballman last?
Did Ms. Ballman ever marry?
Are you proud of your daughter, Mr. Hecht?
Are you proud of Ms. Homes?
Have you read her work?
Did you ask your daughter to meet you in hotels?
Why not coffee shops?
What is the nature of your thoughts about your daughter?
Did your wife know when and where you were meeting your daughter?
If you had been meeting one of your other children, would she have known?
Are you circumcised?
Is this common knowledge?
Does your other daughter know?
Why was this information that you shared with Ms. Homes?
How did your other children find out that they had a sister?
And what was their reaction to discovering that information?
Do you think of yourself as a good father?
Let’s backtrack a little bit…
In May of 1993 you read a review of Ms. Homes’s book in the Washington Post and called her in New York City?
What prompted you to call her on that day?
If Ms. Homes were not a successful, well-known figure, would you have ever called her?
You made a plan to meet in Washington several days later?
Was anyone else at the meeting? Was the meeting taped or otherwise recorded or monitored by anyone?
What was your reaction to meeting Ms. Homes?
When you met her, were you surprised by the degree to which she looks like you?
Does she look more like you than your other children?
Despite the physical similarity at that meeting, you asked Ms. Homes if she would consent to a paternity test—saying that you had no question as to the likelihood that she was your child, but that your wife was insisting, and that you would need that in order to be able to take her into your family. Is that correct?
What made you question Ms. Homes’s paternity?
After the blood was drawn, as you were walking out with Ms. Homes you told her you had something you wanted to give her—and yet you didn’t give her anything?
What did you want to give her?
Was it something of your mother’s? A family heirloom?
Several months later, you phoned Ms. Homes to say you had the results of the test, and you asked Ms. Homes to once again meet you in a hotel in Maryland?
At that meeting you told Ms. Homes that you were in fact her father—that the DNA test said it was 99.9 percent likely—and you asked, “What are my responsibilities?”
What did you envision as your responsibilities?
What were your intentions toward Ms. Homes when you asked her to submit to the test?
Did you follow through by “taking her into your family”?
Before you discussed the results with Ms. Homes, did you discuss them with anyone else?
Did you discuss them with your wife?
Why did you not offer Ms. Homes a copy of the test result?
What did you do with the test result?
When did you give a copy to your lawyer?
Did you keep a copy for yourself?
Do you typically give the one and only copy of an important document to your attorney?
Did you not put it in your safe deposit box because you didn’t want your wife to discover it?
But didn’t you tell Ms. Homes that it was your wife who insisted on Ms. Homes’s having the paternity test before you could “take her into your family”?
Was the reason your wife wanted Ms. Homes to have the DNA test that you had portrayed Ms. Ballman to your wife as a floozy to make it seem like you were Ms. Ballman’s victim?
You arranged for your eldest son to meet Ms. Homes?
How did that meeting go?
Was your son happy to have more information about something that had only been a dim memory from his childhood—the time he spent with Ms. Ballman?
Was there a lot of tension in your home when your eldest son was a boy?
What was the occasion of your wife meeting Ms. Homes?
Is there a reason why your wife wouldn’t like Ms. Homes?
Why did you say to Ms. Homes later that she and your wife didn’t hit it off?
Did Ms. Homes ever ask you for anything?
Do you have concerns about Ms. Homes making a claim on your estate?
Did she ever in any way indicate that she had any interest in your estate?
Did you have her take the paternity test in order that you might by name exclude her from your estate?
When did you last speak to Ms. Ballman?
And what was the substance of that call?
Did you see Ms. Ballman in the months before she died?
Did your wife know you were meeting her?
How did she look? Was she still attractive?
Did Ms. Ballman ask you to ask Ms. Homes if she would give her a kidney?
And what did you tell Ms. Ballman?
Did you later tell Ms. Ballman that in fact you had asked Ms. Homes and that she said no?
Did it occur to you that Ms. Homes did not know about Ms. Ballman’s condition, nor did she have a chance to say good-bye?
Did you go to your own personal doctor and inquire about donating a kidney to Ms. Ballman?
Did you tell Ms. Homes that you had done that?
And what would your wife have thought about that—would you have had the surgery without telling her?
Did you know that Ms. Ballman was going to die?
How did you feel when you heard that Ms. Ballman had passed?
And your last phone call with Ms. Homes—several months after Ms. Ballman’s death—how did that go?
How did it end? Did you say, “Call me anytime. Call me in my car. My wife’s not usually in the car”?
Why would Ms. Homes need to call you in the car as opposed to in your home?
Is anyone harming you, confining you, not allowing you to make and receive calls and/or mail?
Are you angry with Ms. Homes?
When Ms. Homes’s New York lawyer called you—the same man who called you to tell you that Ms. Ballman had passed—and asked you for a copy of the DNA test, you told him never to call you again and referred him to your lawyer.
Mr. Glick called your lawyer and was told by your lawyer that the DNA document had been misplaced and that you would not sign an affidavit of paternity.
Did you know that Mr. Smith had misplaced the test results?
Are you concerned that other important documents may have been misplaced or mishandled?
Does it not seem a little too convenient that Ms. Homes is asking for this document, and now it is missing?
You have children and now grandchildren? Do they look like you, Mr. Hecht?
You have adopted grandchildren as well. Do they look like you also?
Do they have a right to know who they are—where they came from?
What is your understanding of why Ms. Homes wants this document?
If Ms. Homes is your biological relative, why should she not be treated in the same way as your other equally biological children are treated? Why should she have different, less than equal, rights?
Does that seem fair? Are you a fair man? A just man?
Could you please repeat for the record your name?
And Mr. Hecht, could you please for the record state the names of all your children?