As to the public record law, charge number five, he ruled that the plaintiff should have access to the evaluations requested. "The Court finds," he wrote, "that Belmont must comply with the Public Records Law."
Finally, on charge number six, relating to the fair employment law, the judge found the evidence submitted to be sufficient to indicate retaliatory, sexual discrimination.
A few days later, with this Opinion and Order from the court in hand, John T. Pope, president of Belmont University, terminated the plaintiff, effective immediately.
The Pope's action was expected by everyone except Al Garret, Diana's attorney—he still thought he'd won the case. Belmont had been thumbing its nose at the judicial system as long as anyone could remember.
Diana Trenchant packed up the teaching and research accumulations of nearly twenty-five years and left for home.
Neither the president nor any of the Vees could be reached for comment. However, Bob Alastar, the PR for Belmont, called in the press. "We have no comment," he asserted. "It is the university's policy not to discuss personnel decisions with the press."
Now there was a new angle in the threatening phone calls to the plaintiff. The caller would start out in a friendly fashion. In a conversational tone, he would advise Diana to, "go down to the courthouse and examine the court records for the past ten years. Just check the directory for all the cases that Belmont has been involved in and read the outcome. The court clerk will help you." Then the voice would become threatening. "You will see that no one has ever won a case against Belmont. It owns the courts and it owns the lawyers. You'll lose all your money and you'll be hurt in other ways. It can and will make appeal after appeal. It can and will tie this case up for years. Give it up before you get hurt."
Chapter 38
The investigation by the Attorney General continued. When she tried to interview potential witnesses at Belmont, she was prevented by the administration. "Do not even talk with her," was the gag order that went out from the central administration of Belmont to every chair and director. These lesser administrators were told to alert their departments or units and advise all faculty, staff and students not to cooperate in her investigation.