And there, on February 19, 2016, he reads the headline, “Martin Shkreli really is a bad boy of pharma, government argues.” The text by Daniel McDonald explains that the hedge fund guy Martin Shkreli, a middle-aged white man who dresses like a teenager and talks like a gangsta rapper, is being accused of witness intimidation.

But because Mr. Shkreli is already under indictment, he has an advocate.

Reading the advocate’s email in defense of his client, the English professor uncaps his red pen and goes marginal.