binder, he might not have seen an identical volume when Reich showed him one. It was a
small matter but it conveyed some of Maguire’s evasion of a simple point.
Judge Sweeney also asked Ms. Ollendorff whether he should request a psychiatric
examination of Reich. This might provide a way out for Reich; undoubtedly, the judge also
thought Reich genuinely disturbed. Judge Sweeney went on to say that in the face of the
repeated admission of both defendants that they had violated the injunction, there was no
other escape than for them to be found guilty. Sweeney added that he was sorry he had come
into the picture so late.
Ilse’s response to the idea of a psychiatric examination was strong:
I very vigorously advised against a psychiatric examination. First, because it
would have infuriated Reich and all his friends to a great extent, and second, because
whatever Reich’s delusions may have been in regard to the conspiracy or to the secret
nature of his work, I felt that he was absolutely rational in the conduct of the trial
so far as his basic premises were concerned, namely that scientific research should
be free of political interference, that he had a duty to expose the biased and malev-
olent intentions of the FDA investigation which he felt to be against the public
interest^6.The final session on Monday, May 7, was brief. Maguire made a short statement to
the effect that if he had known what the defense was to be, his presentation might have been
much briefer. However, he had not known and he had prepared himself for any eventuality.
For the defense, Silvert read an abbreviated (by the judge) version of Reich’s “Atoms for
Peace versus the Hig [Hoodlums in Government]” address, which had been printed in April
I956^7. The statement repeated the arguments about the unconstitutionality of the injunc-
tion.
Reich himselfconcluded with a very few words to the jury. Among other things, he
pointed out that he had given $350,000 from his earnings as a psychiatrist to orgone energy
research, which made ridiculous Maguire’s efforts to prove that a $21.50 bill had been paid by
accumulator rentals.He told of his difficulties in fighting this case, how one had the feeling
that whatever one did was wrong wherever one turned there was a closed door. He told of
his own experimental nature, how he wanted to see the way this case would develop, how he
even went to jail briefly to see what jail was like though he could have been released on bail
earlier. Jail was barbarous and the people should do something about it. He thought it would
be a good idea ifevery member of a jury, every member of the bar, including Maguire and
Mills, spent a little time in jail to see what it was like. He had found out because it was his
method to study firsthand what he dealt with. He wished his opponents had also found out
what they were dealing with, had read the orgonomic literature and sat in the accumulator.
Maguire gave a short rebuttal, concentrating on material presented in the “Atoms for
Peace”address. To Reich’s statement that orgonomy was in the realm of basic research and
that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) had agreed with this statement, Maguire claimed
418 Myron SharafFury On Earth