The Chosen (22 page)

C
hapter
29

E
scorted by two Capitol guards sent by House Speaker Richards
to meet them
, Kris and Keith made their way through the halls of the Capitol. Across the marble floors and through the National Statuary
H
all, they followed their escorts. Out of the corner of her eye, Kris caught sight of the statue of Father Damien—a small, stout representation of a priest who gave his life in Hawaii to help lepers when no one else would. How ironic that a statue commemorating his courage stood in a building housing the same government that had arrested and imprisoned Nathan O’Brien for demonstrating his courage.

During her real estate years,
Kris had been to Washington D.C. on multiple occasions lobb
ying
for the real estate industry
,
and she had been on multiple tours of the Capitol building—some better hosted and more extensive than others. Keith had also traversed these halls multiple times during his years as an award-winning photojournalist for cable news. Keith had never paid much attention to the art or architecture or the beautifully crafted floors and ceilings—he was there chasing a story about some deadbeat politician or trying to get set up to record a sound bite (which was undoubtedly a lie anyway) and then transmit it back for the
news. To him the gilded surroundings were just as ridiculous and wasted as a sapphire necklace adorning a pig
’s neck
. But to Kris, the Capitol Rotunda and the hallways had always seemed magical—a glittering, glorious reminder of the specialness of America. Today, as they made their way through the halls behind the security sent to escort them, she felt as though she were having an out-of-body experience. Every sight, every sound was magnified one thousand times.  She might be walking down this hall to her own death sentence
,
and she felt as if she were doing so in slow motion. 

She looked at Keith; he was walking beside her with his head slightly bowed—as if he were already a condemned man.  With his left hand he brushed his hair back slightly and she saw that his lips were moving—was that a prayer? In spite of the stress she was
feeling
and the awfulness of the circumstances, she felt one moment of
intense
joy. Only God could have changed Keith’s heart after so many years of bitterness and anger
,
and that was something for which to be joyful; only God could bring something good out of events as t
ragic
as these.

Something from the past was try
ing to force
it’s
way into Kris’
conscious mind—something her father used to quote, “The Lord has His way in the wind and the whirlwind”—that was the way Jim always quoted it, but as the seconds passed Kris remembered what the text really said, “The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are as the dust of His feet.”  As the verse
flo
oded her mind it gave Kris
the
courage to pray one final prayer, “Oh Lord, thank You for saving my brother. The Bible says that You have Your way in the whirlwind and in the storm—please have Your way in this ruling today.  Please save our country and us, and give me back my husband and my child, and give Jeff back to Karyn and their children. Please restore freedom
in this country. In
Jesus
’
name.” That was all she had time to do—they were now standing in front of the small chamber.

Julian Cicchetti was waiting for them inside.  He shook their hands and motioned for them to be seated.  “The ruling will be handed down at 10:00.
T
hat is exactly
five minutes from now; and the C
ourt
will be
punctual,” he informed them in a low, serious voice. Julian looked as thoroughly neat and prepared as he had the first day she had walked into his office, but although he was trying hard not to show any e
mot
ion
,
the stress on his face was impossible to hide.  He had risked as much on this as she and Keith—except that Julian hadn’t done it to save a
family member
. He had done what he had done to save
F
reedom, if it could be saved. He had risked his
own
life, and possibly the lives of his staff and family, on the outcome of this ruling.

Only three media outlets were allowed into the chamber; they were already set up and waiting.  All of the others were gathered on the Capitol steps a
wa
i
ting the ruling so that they could transmit it back. Kris wondered how these three earned the honor of being in the room; Keith did not have to wonder—they were the three most consistently
in line
with the
Administration
on every issue. Additional security appeared with a new spectator—the Speaker of the House took a
seat at the front of the room.
He had opened the
C
ourt’s chambers for this moment
,
and he was going to be in the room to hear the ruling.

“All Rise,” called the bailiff.  One by one
,
each of the nine
J
ustices filed into the chamber. Kris did not remember all of the
J
ustices being present when other decisions were
handed down
, but then again this was a very historic occasion. For the first time in
nearly four
years the Court would be issuing a ruling
,
and all of them wanted to be present when it was read.
The familiar call of the official crier was beginning:

“
…
All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States, and this Honorable Court.”

The Justices were seated, and the Chief Justice began to read, “In the Matter of
Kristina Mitchell Linton on behalf of Michael Aaron Linton and Jeffrey Ray Conners vs. The State of Nevada, The United States of America,
Homeland Security
and The Department of Justice
, the United States Supreme Court, on this day, April 2, 2018, finds the following:

“The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 passed by the United States Congress and signed into
law by the President of the United States g
i
ve
s
the U.S. government authority to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens
,
as well as foreign insurgents suspected of being involved in terrorism
,
without charges and without trial.  The Act also provide
s
that the President and his
Administration
ha
ve
discretionary authority to determine which citizens are potential terrorist threats and to enforce thi
s law as necessary. The Act further
authorizes the President
,
at his sole discretion
,
to order the execution
,
without trials
,
of U.S. citizens.

“The Court recognizes that terrorism is an unfortunate reality of the modern world, and that Americans have allowed laws such as the NDAA to be passed in an attempt to prevent the loss of property and life that we as a nation suffered at 9/11.
T
he Court also recognizes that the impetus for passing these laws on the part of the legislative bodies was very likely borne out of sincerely good intentions to prote
ct the freedom of all citizens.
However, as Daniel Webster
wrote,
‘
Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority.
It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good
intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters
.’

“In the quest to protect the safety and security of the citizens of the United States, the law has overlooked the obvious truth expressed by the Founders—that only in liberty can safety and security truly be fostered.  Through the NDAA, Congress and the Executive Branch have subverted one of the most fundamental and cherished rights of American
citizens
—the right to a speedy trial by a jury of one’s peers. It is precisely when U.S. citizens are suspected of participation in the most heinous crimes that this right of trial by jury becomes most critical. Yet
,
our current system affords the right to trial by jury for a man accused of plotting one murder and denies it to the man accused of plotting many murders. Both are the same crime—altered only by the multiplication of the number of potential victims.  Both of the accused should be protected by the same rights under the same document—the Constitution of these United States of America.

“
One of the
last case
s
that the Court heard before the Supreme Court Building was locked down
upheld provisions of federal law that gave sweeping powers to the
U.S. g
overnment.
At that time I stated that it is not the duty of the Court to protect U.S. citizens from their poor choices at the ballot box. What I did not say, however, is that it is the duty of the Court to rule on the constitutionality of all laws brought before it.
When
this Court failed to rule correctly based on
that
law’s constitutionality,
we caused great harm to come to the American people. Today we will not repeat our mistake.

“Therefore, we the Supreme Court of the United States find that the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 allowing
the
detention and/or execution without benefit of a trial by jury of U.S. citizens or persons residing in
the United States who are suspected of plotting or committing crimes on U.S. soil is a violation of the Constitution of the United States. Michael Aaron Linton and Jeffrey
Ray Conners
are to be released from federal custody immediately and scheduled to stand trial in federal court upon whatever charges the U.S. Justice Department deems appropriate. We further find that all such persons who are currently incarcerated
under the provisions of the NDAA
anywhere in the United States, on any of its military bases, or in any of its protectorates, shall immediately be released from custody to prepare to stand trial for the crimes of which they are accused.

“All such persons shall be allowed to confer with attorneys; if they cannot afford an attorney, legal representation must b
e provided for them at the G
overnment’s expense. 

“With regard to the Government’s claim that trials for such currently incarcerated persons would be unduly expensive and burdensome to the taxpayers and that the burden of proof would place too great a burden on already over-worked prosecutors because of
the
large number of detained persons in the United
States, on its bases and in it
s protectorates, the Court responds that individual liberty cannot
bear
a price tag.  Further, the Government’s burden of proof is an essential component in maintaining the freedom and individual liberty of all citizens. The Court takes a dim view of the incarceration of any individual for whom the Government is unable to sufficiently demonstrate guilt through normal legal process
es
.

“
Finally, the Court rule
s that all persons who have been executed without trial shall have their names released to their nearest of kin and the remains of such persons shall, if at all possible, also be released so that those persons may be laid to rest in accordance with each individual family’s wishes,
traditions and cultural and religious beliefs—to the extent that it is possible to do so.

“This Court’s ruling does not extend to non-U.S. citizens on foreign soil or enemy combatants in military situations overseas.

“The ruling of the Cou
rt in this matter is unanimous.
No dissenting opinion, therefore, will be provided. The Court’s findings are to be implemented immediately.”

“Immediately….” Kris clung to this last word and hardly heard
anything else
. “What did ‘immediately’ mean? This afternoon? Tomorrow?  A week? A month?  She remembered hearing of cases where people who had been pardoned were
held
for sixty days
before the
y
were released
while the courts processed the paperwork.  Maybe Julian could tell her what to expect.

The Chief Justice adjourned the
C
ourt
,
and after what seemed like a very long time, she, Keith and Julian were able to leave the chamber and head back out into the hallway. Julian did not wait for her to ask, “The
C
ourt’s instructions said that the ruling must be implemented immediately, but in practical terms that could be a few weeks. This afternoon I
will
file a motion with the Justice Department to get them to release the exact location of Michael
’s
and Jeff’s incarceration. That way you
’
ll know where you need to go physically to meet them
—hopefully they are in the same facility.
We will also
file
a
reques
t
to be informed of the exact release date. As soon as I have that information, I will contact you with it.”