Meet Dr Fred

From pages 469 and 471 of Richard North Patterson's novel Balance of Power:

If the purpose of deposing an expert witness was to help him hang himself, Sarah meant to be as helpful as possible to Dr. Frederick Glass.

"Dr. Fred," as he cheerfully called himself, was as chipper as he was conservative, having risen from academic obscurity to prominence as a prolific contrarian who boldly challenged what he labeled "fatuous liberal orthodoxy." With the unflappable good nature of someone well pleased at the attention this had garnered, he proffered his research on topics ranging from the fallacy of affirmative action to the role of the entertainment industry as a purveyor of violence. His view of gun rights was summarized by the title of his seminal book More Guns, Less Death.

"In my opinion," Glass told her emphatically, "the Lexington P-2 has an affirmative social utility."

Dr. Fred, Sarah thought, was a bit too pleased with himself. "And what might that be?"

"It's small enough to be potentially concealable, at least in someone's briefcase. The laws licensing civilians to carry concealed weapons make all of us a whole lot safer."

...

With this, Sarah resolved to abandon any pretense of politeness. "Then let's turn to your academic career, and, specifically, to your connection with the subject of guns. How many universities have employed you as a professor?"

As though prepared for this line of inquiry, Glass answered equably, "Five."

"And how many have offered you tenure?"

"None. But I was only eligible for tenure at the University if Connecticut."

"Because the others let you go too quickly?"

The witness's smile resembled a grimace. "I'd classify the decision as mutual---their lack of real academic freedom, and my resistence to the prevailing liberal ideology."

Whatever, Sarah thought. Crisply, she asked, "For what reason did Connecticut deny you tenure?"

Glass steepled his fingers. "Their stated reason was that my academic research was 'insufficiently rigorous.' The actual reason was that I voiced forbidden thoughts."

"Such as your suggestion that women's suffrage has led to an increase in crime?"

The witness shrugged. "It's easy, Ms Dash, to mock a statement isolated from the research which supports it. But it's a demonstrable fact that, since 1920, women's more permissive attitudes towards crime---as reflected in their voting patterns---has relegated crime prevention to a low priority compared to what I call 'the nurturing issues,' matters like education and health care. This has led to greater laxity among our elected officials and, as more women have ascended the bench, our judiciary."