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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] The buzz grew. Eyes widened all around the courtroom. Objection! Ben said, not because he had any grounds but because he thought he had to. This is hearsay Admission against interest, Drabble said calmly. and was obviously invented by the prosecution to counteract our defense. This testimony does not appear in any of the witness s prior statements! I just remembered a few days ago, Scholes said. When I read in the paper that Johnny was claiming he didn t kill that kid. The objection is overruled, Lacayo said. But your honor, Ben continued, trying to break the spell these deadly words had cast over the courtroom, this is an eleventh hour switch obviously concocted to You ll have a chance to expose any perceived faults in the testimony during cross, the judge said firmly. The objection is overruled. Proceed. It s not true, Johnny whispered, as Ben retook his seat. I don t remember saying anything like that. Page 183 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Ben motioned for him to be silent. The last thing they needed was for the jury to see him desperately protesting his innocence. Stay calm, he mouthed. Drabble resumed his questioning. And what if anything did the defendant do after he made that statement? Nothing at first. But about a minute or so later, he got up, with this really weird expression on his face and left the bar. Now the noise in the gallery was so intense Judge Lacayo had to clap his gavel a few times and order silence. Sitting behind the defense table, Ellen Christensen s eyes closed, her face contorted in pain. He left? Drabble said, acting surprised, although Ben knew perfectly well he wasn t. For how long? Scholes tossed his head to the side. Hard to say exactly. Maybe fifteen minutes. And this would be when? Around 11:10, I think. Ben felt a cold chill grip his spine. Eleven ten still within the window of the coroner s estimated time of death. And how long does it take to get from the bar to your fraternity house? Drabble asked. Only a few minutes. You can walk it in five. So let me get this straight. At 11:10, the defendant says, I should finish what we started, leaves the bar for fifteen minutes, then returns. Objection, your honor, Ben said. Thank God he finally got an opening. He s leading the witness. True enough, Lacayo replied. Sustained. What s more, I object to this entire line of questioning. It s all supposition based on hearsay. The witness can t testify about what my client did after he supposedly left the bar. This evidence isn t probative of anything. Drabble arched an eyebrow. Then it shouldn t pose any threat to you. I move to strike, Ben continued, advancing toward the bench. Drabble joined him. In fact, I move for a mistrial. On what grounds? the judge asked. On the grounds that this speculative and irrelevant testimony has permanently tainted this jury. Tainted them with the truth? Drabble asked. The mere fact that the man left the table for a little while doesn t prove he killed anybody. Page 184 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html And I m sure you ll make that point on cross and in closing, Lacayo said. Anything else? Yes! At the very least, I move that the jury be instructed to disregard this line of questioning. That will be denied, Lacayo ruled. Your honor, he s lying! That s why God made cross-examination, counsel. If nothing else, Ben pleaded, strike the testimony on grounds of fundamental fairness. The prior defense attorney interviewed the witness extensively, but he didn t hear anything about this. Maybe he didn t ask the right questions, Drabble said. That is another issue you can address on cross, the judge added. What s more, Ben said, glaring at Drabble, the prosecution has a legal obligation to come forward during the pretrial period with any damaging evidence they intend to use at trial. But we never heard about this. We gave them the witness, Drabble said. Good grief, do we have to give them a list of questions to ask? We can t lead them by the hand every step of the way. Defendants are supposed to be tried by evidence, not by ambush. Gentlemen, please! Lacayo held up his hands, clearly indicating he wanted the discussion to end. I m sympathetic to what you re saying, Mr. Kincaid and I know the appeals court will rip me a new one if I allow anyone to be tried by ambush. But I don t feel this one detail varies that much from what you already knew the witness was going to say It destroys our entire defense! and you did have access to the witness beforehand. It would be different if he lied to you, but there s no indication before me that he did only that you failed to cover an important area of potential testimony. We can t do everything for you, you know. Sometimes counsel has to stand on their own two feet. Ben bit his tongue. We re burning daylight, gentlemen, and I m still hoping we can finish the prosecution s case today. Let s move along. The attorneys returned to their positions. Drabble passed the witness. Ben launched in on him immediately. Mr. Scholes, do you consider yourself a good person? The witness was understandably perplexed. I guess. Are you a loyal person? Scholes s lips tightened. Now he knew where this was going. I try to be. And I believe you ve said you considered Johnny Christensen your friend? Page 185 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html True, but Do you think he considered you a friend? I like to think so. And when you sat together in that bar last March and he was talking, do you think he expected you would repeat what he said to third parties? Probably not, and normally I wouldn t. But this is murder! A fair point, Ben thought quietly. Nonetheless, he was speaking to you in confidence. Well, not really, because as it turned out, the police were listening at the next booth. But neither of you knew that. He must ve thought he could trust you. Ben had no idea whether this would fly or not, but it had to be to their advantage to portray the witness as a traitor and a snitch rather than a whistle-blower. I guess. But as it turns out, your loyalties were somewhere else altogether, right? I . . . don t know what you mean. How long have you been in the Christian Minutemen? He seemed taken aback by the sudden shift in topic. I ve already said for some time. Over three years, to be more precise. Y-yes. That s right. You re rising up the ranks in the local chapter, aren t you? I m the assistant deputy director. And what s the position of your organization regarding the murder of Tony Barovick? We have publicly condemned the actions of the accused. Even though he s one of you. Even so. The fact is, Ben said, Johnny has become something of a liability, hasn t he? I m . . . not sure what you mean. Oh, come on now, Mr. Scholes. You ve been to the meetings. It must ve been discussed. If Johnny Christensen is linked to the Minutemen, it could really mess up that supposed nonviolence position of yours. Attacking that boy was his idea, not ours. Page 186 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html So you say. But in any case, Johnny has become a political liability, and you ve gone out of your way to distance yourselves from him. That s why you ve cooperated with the police, isn t it? You d be happiest if Johnny disappeared from the face of the earth. Not because of what he did but because he got caught. I m just telling you what I know. And then some. You and your little gang of hooligans want to see Johnny convicted, and you re not afraid to make up a story to see that it happens! [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |