Behind The Blue Dot

She was nameless and faceless, just a blue dot, gray smudge or white circle on TV screens. Only her shoulder-length black hair was visible around the edges of the distortion, along with a bit of tailored suit and a string of pearls. Inside the courtroom, however, the jury and a few spectators had a clear view for nearly two days of a 30-year-old single mother struggling with a variety of emotions, from anger to anguish, as she testified about a fateful evening.

During almost 10 hours of bruising testimony and cross-examination, the alleged rape victim struggled hard to maintain her composure....