There was one very human moment when Reich, talking about the Foundation,
turned to Peter Mills and said, smiling: “Do you remember when we formed the Foundation
together, Mr. Mills?” After Reich’s statement, the judge said he would examine the lawyers’
briefs.
I rode back to Boston with Fisher, who remarked that he had never seen a day in
court like it. Still, his main objective was to find a way to “settle the case.” He thought he
could get an agreement with the court permitting Reich to do anything except send accumu-
lators into interstate commerce. Reich would never have agreed to such a plan, but Fisher’s
stand was: “I’m an expert in law and it is on those grounds that Reich must swim or sink.”
Fisher’s insistence on legally sound procedures soon led to his leaving the case.
A further pre-trial hearing took place on November 4, which I also attended. The
same people appeared, with two exceptions: neither Haydon nor Fisher was present, though
Haydon continued to serve as a consultant. Reich had decided to be his own counsel.
At this hearing, Reich presented a motion to establish a “Board of Social
Pathology” to examine the whole case on an educational and medical level. The chemically-
minded, the orgonomically-minded could sit down together peacefully and assess the facts.
In a switch of emphasis, Reich said that this proposal assumed the FDA had acted out of
ignorance rather than malice.
The judge asked Maguire if he had anything to say. Maguire said he had not been
listening. The judge ruled that he lacked the authority to establish such a board.
Reich’s next motion concerned various misrepresentations by the FDA. The judge
ruled that all such issues belonged in the original hearing when Reich had not appeared;
there was no further recourse.
Reich had taken various other rulings with equanimity. However, this new ruling
clearly hurt. He asked, almost pleadingly, if there was no opportunity now to go into these
issues. There was not, repeated the judge. Reich said he could not appear at the original
injunction hearing without “being smothered,”that he had to prepare his evidence. Reich
kept changing his reasons for his original nonappearance, an indication to me that he was
not presenting his essential motives,namely, his pride and his fear of being humiliated.
The judge also ruled favorably on FDA subpoena requests for various Foundation
records.When Reich heard this ruling, he said he did not know whether to obey; issues of
conscience were involved. The judge firmly asserted that this was a court order. Reich had
always acted with the utmost sincerity, so he did not believe Reich would ever consciously
disobey an order ofthe court. Reich replied: “I understand. I know what the word ‘obey’
means.” He went on to say that if he gave any information to the FDA, he could not take
responsibility for what might happen.The judge said he understood and the responsibility
would be the FDA’s and the court’s. He seemed quite relieved that Reich would comply with
his ruling on the subpoenas.
In spite ofthe legal defeats, Reich left the courtroom in surprisingly good spirits.
He looked forward to more ofthe issues coming out in the trial for contempt of injunction,
a trial scheduled to come before a full jury because Reich was charged with criminal con-
408 Myron SharafFury On Earth