A Fool for a Client (11 page)

“You might think that because the late Sean Murphy was himself accused of murder, in a foreign country, hat this in some way justifies the actions of the defendant.
But I need hardly remind you, members of the jury, that our sacred tradition calls for a government of laws and not of men.
It was for the courts to decide what do to with Sean Murphy, not one lone vigilante.
The courts decided.
But she didn
’
t agree with their decision, so she decided to take the law into her own hands

“I do not know what connection, if any, existed between Justine Levy and her victim.
It may be that in her own twisted way she thought that she was acting in revenge for her profession.
Murphy was accused of murdering a doctor.
Justine Levy is a medical student.
Perhaps she thought that it was up to her to avenge his death.
Of course it was the revenge of a sick mind, s revenge so often is. But human life is a sacred thing... and that is why we have laws to protect it.”

He looked intently at the jury for a few seconds and then returned to his seat.

Some of the jurors were surprised that the prosecutor had no more than speculated on the motive, and his speculation had been pretty weak at that.
What they didn
’
t know was that motive was the prosecution
’
s weak spot from the very beginning.

“We
’
ve got to find it,” Abrams had told the DA.
“We
’
ll need it if we
’
re going for murder.”

“I don
’
t see why,” the DA had replied, unperturbed.
“We can prove what she did.
We
’
ve got expert testimony.
There are no chain of custody loopholes, and she
’
s fully
compos mentis
.
The case may be circumstantial, but it isn
’
t weak.
It comes straight from the forensic lab and its solid.
Just make sure you get a jury that trusts scientists and you
’
ve got her nailed from opening credits to sunset finale.”

“Jerry listen to me.
You said yourself when you handed me the file that it
’
s going to be an uphill task prosecuting
a pretty girl who
’
s been through what she
’
s been through, especially if the jury finds out about it.
Now you
’
re trying to re-assure me that we have a strong case and that all I have to do is present it.
Well you were right the first time.
It
’
s not just enough to present the case.
To prove murder I
’
m going to have to show intent to kill.”

“Oh come on Dan!
You don
’
t think all those preparations don
’
t add up to a premeditated plan?”

“Maybe it was a plan to frighten.”

“Oh that
’
s ridiculous!”

“Is it?
We still don
’
t know
why
!”

But no one at the DA
’
s office had a clue what the motive was.
They had taken a straw poll and the most popular explanation was, perversely, jilted lover.
That this unlikely explanation was not supported by so much as a shred of evidence did nothing to mute the speculation.
Loved-Murphy
’
s-victim ran a strong second followed by Murphy-killed-someone-in her-family.
A straight vigilante killing had only two votes: the DA and his secretary.

Not content with the results of the poll, Abrams had put a team of three young rookies from his staff onto the task of finding a motive.
They had badgered Interpol and Scotland Yard, who were uncharacteristically obstructive.
They even made some inquiries to the BBC in case they were sitting on some secret information for a documentary, to embarrass the British government.
They had even investigated Justine
’
s political past to see if she had any connection with Unionist paramilitary groups in
Northern Ireland
.
But they had drawn a blank on all counts.

“The defence can either make its opening statement now,” said the judge in a tone of mild boredom, “or reserve the right to do so after the People
’
s case is concluded.
Miss Levy, the choice is yours.
I suggest however that you confer with your standby counsel before deciding.
If you wish I will grant a brief recess in order to give you time to confer.”

Parker leaned over to Justine and whispered: “I suggest you let me speak now to undermine the impact of his speech.”

“How do you propose to do that when you don
’
t know the facts?”

He leaned back, defeated, as Justine rose.

“I
’
ll speak now Your Honour.”

She turned to face the jury, looking at one juror in particular: James Lawson.

“Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks.
When she realized what she
’
d done.
She gave her father forty one.
That rhyme has been known to children since the turn of a century when the trial of Lizzie Borden took place.
Not many people know, even today, that Lizzie Borden was acquitted.

“In the nineteen fifties, a demagogue by the name of Joe McCarthy made a series of wide-ranging but factually hollow accusations to the effect that various figures in public life were Communists.
Although he never proved so much as one of his accusations, he was greatly admired by many people and hailed as a defender of our system against the evil of Communism.
Today we look back on McCarthy as a liar and a demagogue who hurt many innocent people with his false accusations.
Most conservatives regard him with embarrassment rather than admiration, while radical libertarians go even further and regard him with contempt.

Abrams exchanged a puzzled look with his second seat colleague.
The judge looked on impassively, admiring Justine
’
s technique and fascinated by it.
Strictly speaking, the only proper purpose of an opening statement is to present the outline of ones case and to state the elements of that case that one intends to prove.
Abrams knew that he could object to
Justine
’
s soliloquy as not
being a proper opening statement.
But his instincts told him to hold back, so as not to give the impression that he was trying to suppress her case.
Whatever Justine was trying to accomplish by her rambling monologue, he was confident that there could be nothing in it that would harm his case.
All she could do would be to confuse the jury and give them the clear impression that she was mentally unstable, perhaps even unstable enough to commit murder.

“When Christopher Columbus set sail to the west in search of a new trade route to the riches of the eastern world, he was warned by uneducated people around him that the world was flat and that he
’
d fall off the edge.
This was in spite of the fact that educated people had known since the time of the ancient Greeks that the world was round.”

A ripple of laughter wafted through the courtroom and broke into
embarrassed silence in the face of the judge
’
s reproving look. It relieved the spectators to hear such a snippet of humour from the hard-faced Justine, however brief.
But it was over almost as soon as it started, without even a fleeting smile crossing her face.

Abrams shifted awkwardly.
He was adding up the common factor in all of Justine
’
s anecdotes, finally realizing what she was up to.
But he had left it too late to make a valid objection.
The judge would not look kindly on it if he tried to block her now.
All he could do was ride out the storm and try to put his case back on track when he called his first witness.

“The point I
’
m getting at, members of the jury, is that it
’
s all-too-easy for a lot of people to believe something and for all of them to be wrong.
It
’
s easy even for
intelligent
people to get caught in the grip of mass hysteria.
We see it in the lingering assumption that Lizzie Borden was guilty.
We remember it happening during the McCarthy era.
And we can even read about it in the time of Christopher Columbus.”

She paused for a moment to let her point sink in.

“All I
’
m asking you to do is keep your minds open until you
’
ve heard all the facts.
You
’
ve read about this case in the papers and heard about it on TV and some of you have come here with your minds already made up.
You
’
ve seen the case in close-up.
Now stand back and take another look.”

She sat down to a silence that was as deafening as any thunder, a silence that weighed in so heavily, it allowed the jurors to hear not only the beating of their hearts, but even the creaking of their souls.

“Were you always this stubborn?” asked Rick Parker

He was edging his way along between the chairs towards a table in the corner, his tray held high in the air as it passed precariously over the heads of the lunchtime crowd.
Justine gave him a quick glance backward, catching sight of him briefly as he struggled to keep up with her while she deftly manoeuvred towards the table she had chosen.

“I
’
ll let you figure that out for yourself,” she replied, dismissing the question coolly as she led the way through the throngs of customers with a degree of self-confidence that bordered on bravado.

“I reckoned that if you wouldn
’
t let me defend you in court, at least you
’
d let me buy you lunch.
I
’
d like to feel that I
’
m earning my keep in some way.”

They slid easily if without grace onto the olive-green formica seats.
The act of sitting down offered Parker a sense of relief, a feeling of taking shelter from the lunchtime rush even if they were still in the thick of it.
In the comfort and safety of the corner, it was as if nothing in the world could harm them.

“I
’
m a good lawyer you know.
If only you
’
d give me a chance.”

She took a bite out of her pastrami sandwich as if consciously relegating his question to second place.

“I don
’
t doubt you,” she replied.
“I want you to know that.
I
’
m sure you
’
re a damn good lawyer.”

He smiled in gratitude at the few crumbs of flattery she was ready to throw his way.
But she killed his reviving confidence with her follow on.

“It
’
s just that what you have to offer me really has no bearing on my defence.”

He looked at her, not exactly hurt, but openly vulnerable.

“Why don
’
t you tell me what you
’
re planning?” he asked.
“I mean your defence.
Maybe I could help you.”

“I
’
ll tell you when I tell everyone else, in court.”

“You mean you
’
re going to testify?”

The fear in his voice was genuine.
But it came over as sarcasm.

“I believe I have that right,” she replied, struggling to inject a note of coolness into her tone.

In the silence that followed she took another bite out of her sandwich while Parker studied her face.

“You
’
re a tough cookie” he said, to break the silence.

She said nothing.

“Does that mean I
’
m going to have to work blind?”

“You
’
re only a standby counsel.
You don
’
t have to work at all.”

“I could help you on points of law.
I could raise objections to Abrams
’
tactics and block evidence that may be harmful to you.
But If I do it blind I could make things worse.
Can
’
t we work together on this one?”