The TRIBUNAL (11 page)

    “Yes, Your Honor. Without waiving any rights or defenses, including that of the jurisdiction of this court, I ask that not guilty pleas be entered as to each count of the indictment.”

    “Not guilty pleas will be entered.”

    Kevin suddenly realized what Judge Davidson was up to.
He’s a smart old coot
. The judge had wanted Draga to have an attorney to enter his plea for him. The judge had deftly avoided any possible roadblocks to that end result. If he had disqualified Kevin at the outset, the arraignment might have had to be postponed again.

    Judge Davidson looked down at the leather book in front of him. He appeared to be working off a script, and was moving smoothly through his agenda.

    “Now that the accused has been duly and properly arraigned, we shall turn to the prosecution’s motion to disqualify Mr. Anderson.” The judge turned to the prosecution table. “Does the prosecution have anything to add?”

    “No, Your Honor,” a confident Bradford Stone responded.

    “Mr. Anderson, this is a very serious allegation. It brings dishonor to you and to this court. What do you have to say for yourself?”

    Kevin rose to his feet. “There is no conflict of interest, Your Honor. I have unequivocally withdrawn my application to work for the prosecution. I have no personal stake in this case, and no interest contrary to that of the accused.”

    Judge Davidson’s face reddened to a bright pink. “Mr. Anderson, you have used extraordinarily bad judgment, and shown a lack of respect for this Court. We can’t waste our time with inexperienced lawyers making frivolous motions and violating the canons of ethics. The Motion to Disqualify is granted.”

    Kevin felt about two inches tall. He was unsure whether he should get up and leave. Since no one told him to go, he remained in his seat, trying to maintain a poker face. He wanted to disappear.

    Judge Davidson turned to Vladimir Krasnic. “That brings us to your motion, Mr. Krasnic.”

    “Yes, Your Honor.” Krasnic displayed the confidence of a man whose competition had just been eliminated.

    “I would like to grant your motion. I know you to be a very competent counsel and one who understands and obeys the rules of this Court.”

    Krasnic smiled, and bowed slightly to the judge.

    “But I need to have some indication from Mr. Zaric that he wishes to choose you as his assigned counsel. I will state on the record that by doing so, he will not be waiving any challenges he has to the jurisdiction of this Court, or any other matter. But our rules require that the accused choose an assigned counsel from our list. Otherwise, the Tribunal staff makes the assignment.”

    “May I have a moment with Mr. Zaric?”

    “Of course.”

    Kevin watched as Krasnic walked over to Draga and spoke to him. Kevin couldn’t bear to look at anyone else in the courtroom. He didn’t dare see who was out in the visitors’ gallery.

    “I’m sorry, Your Honor,” Krasnic said when he returned to the podium, “I cannot convince Mr. Zaric to address the Court.”

    “Very well, Mr. Krasnic. I will direct the staff to assign new counsel for Mr. Zaric.”

    Krasnic looked disappointed. Then he brightened. “Excuse me, Your Honor, might I make a suggestion that I believe will accommodate all interests?”

    “Yes, what is it?”

    “Perhaps Mr. Zaric could be provided with the list of the assigned counsel. The court could take a short recess while Mr. Zaric circles the name on the list that he chooses as his counsel. That way he would not have to address the Court, yet he can make his preference known.”

    “That is a very unusual procedure,” Judge Davidson grumbled.

    “It complies with the Court’s rules. Perhaps it will allow Mr. Zaric to save some face, Your Honor.” Krasnic gave an indulgent smile to the judge.

    “Very well. Mr. Zaric, the court will furnish you with a list of all of the lawyers eligible to be assigned a case in this court. You shall indicate your preference by circling one name. If you do not do so, your assigned counsel will be chosen for you.”

    “Thank you, Your Honor,” Krasnic responded gratefully.

    “Court is in recess for fifteen minutes.”

    Kevin rose as Judge Davidson left the courtroom. Kevin looked over at Draga, who was being fawned over by Krasnic. Draga never looked in Kevin’s direction. Kevin was a nobody in the courtroom, and he knew it. He wanted out as quickly as possible, and yet he hated the thought of going home and telling Ellen he was unemployed again and to say goodbye to all her new friends because they would be heading back to California immediately.

    As Draga left the room carrying the list of lawyers and a pencil, Krasnic walked over to the prosecutor’s table. Kevin heard him arranging for the discovery materials to be delivered to his office. Kevin wished that court would be over, so that he could just leave. He was totally humiliated.

    After precisely fifteen minutes, Judge Davidson returned to the bench. He looked over at Draga’s chair. It was empty. “Where is the accused?”

    “One moment, Judge,” replied the guard stationed inside the door. The guard spoke into his hand-held radio. In a moment, the door opened and Draga was led to his seat.

    “The usher will retrieve the papers from the accused,” Judge Davidson said.

    The black-robed usher approached Draga and took the papers from him. He delivered them back to the judge.

    Judge Davidson flipped through the papers. “I see that you have circled a name, Mr. Zaric.” He held the paper up closer to his eyes and donned his glasses.

    “Kevin Anderson?”

    Kevin was shocked at the mention of his name.

    Krasnic’s head went back as if hit in the jaw.

    In disbelief, Judge Davidson looked at the paper again.

    Kevin looked over at Draga; Draga broke out into a big grin.

    “You two deserve each other,” Judge Davidson muttered. “Mr. Anderson, you are reinstated as counsel of record for Mr. Zaric. Court is adjourned.”

    

    

    “I’m glad you’re still Draga’s lawyer, Daddy,” Ellen said after Kevin told her and Diane what had happened in court.

    “Why?” he asked his daughter.

    “Because those bullies pick on everyone.”

    “Any other reason?” he smiled.

    “Oh Daddy,
you know
. I’m not ready to go back home.”

    “So why did you let Draga choose you as his lawyer?” Diane asked.

    “It wasn’t my choice. It was his. I just hope he’ll talk to me now.”

    “Let’s have a party for Daddy,” Ellen exclaimed. “I’ll make a cake!”

    “You have homework to do, young lady,” Diane said too sternly.

    “Party pooper!” Ellen walked into the dining room and sat back down at the table where her homework was spread out. Kevin had tried to make her do her homework at her desk on the third floor, but Ellen hated being banished to her room. She wanted to be where the action was, so she could monitor and contribute to every conversation. After a few attempts, Kevin had given up. Now a threat to send her to the third floor to finish her homework was enough to get Ellen back on task.

    At about 8 p.m., the doorbell rang. Ellen raced to the door and opened it. Soon she was back in the dining room. “It’s for you, Dad.”

    Kevin went to the front door. He was surprised to see Zoran Vacinovic, from the Serbian Embassy, and another man standing in the doorway.

    “Mr. Vacinovic, come in.”

    Vacinovic and the other man entered. “I was in the area so I decided to drop by rather than call tomorrow. I have someone I want you to meet. I hope you don’t mind.”

    “I don’t mind.”

    “This is Mihajlo Golic. He is your client’s brother-in-law.”

    Kevin shook the man’s hand. Golic was huge – at least 6-foot-4 – and had a handshake like a vise. Kevin led the men into his living room. He introduced them to Diane and Ellen, and then took them upstairs to his office.

    “Your daughter is beautiful,” Golic remarked.

    “Thank you. She’s a great kid.”

    Vacinovic got down to business. “Mr. Golic is a former Belgrade police detective. He wants to help his brother-in-law. I thought perhaps you could use him as an investigator now that it looks like you’re going to be representing Mr. Zaric.”

    Kevin looked over at Golic. His appearance was very professional. He was dressed in a shirt and tie with a gray tweed sports coat. He looked to be in his early forties, with an Arnold Schwarzenegger physique.

    “It’s kind of you to offer your assistance,” Kevin said to Golic. “Have you done any private investigation before?”

    “Yes.”

    “He has worked on several sensitive assignments from our government since leaving the police department,” Vacinovic interjected. “He has also worked on security matters for some of the largest companies in Serbia.”

    Kevin was surprised and delighted to be getting this kind of substantive help. “I’m going to need an investigator in Serbia,” he said. “I can submit a request to the Tribunal so Mr. Golic can be paid for his work.”

    “That will not be necessary,” Vacinovic replied. “My government will pay Mr. Golic. We consider your client a loyal and patriotic citizen. It is our duty to help him.”

    Kevin pulled out a legal pad from his top drawer.

    “Mr. Golic,” he said, “the first thing I would like you to do is to find out everything you can about your brother-in-law’s arrest. I want to know if the United Nations hired someone to kidnap him or paid a bounty for his arrest. Can you do that?”

    “That is no problem,” the big man said softly. “I will begin working on that when I return to Belgrade in three days time.”

    “Excellent.”

    “Can you send him the reports you get from the prosecutor so that he is informed about the case?” Vacinovic asked.

    “Yes, that’s a good idea. There’ll probably be other witnesses to interview as well. I’ll make a set of reports for you as soon as I get them from the prosecutor.”

    Kevin was pleased. He had a professional investigator, and at no cost.

    As Vacinovic and Golic were getting ready to leave, Vacinovic said, “Oh yes, there is one more thing. Mr. Golic would like to see his brother-in-law while he is here, and to give him the regards of his family. Can you arrange a visit for him?”

    “I think so. Let me call the prison right now.”

    Kevin called and asked about their visiting policy for family members. He learned that inmates could have visits with family members on weekends. But Golic would be leaving before the weekend. Kevin asked about defense investigators, and learned that an investigator could have a visit at any time so long as he had a letter of authorization from the defense counsel. Kevin reported what he had learned to Vacinovic and Golic.

    “Could you prepare a letter so that he can visit his brother-in-law as soon as possible?”

    “Sure.” Kevin turned on his laptop computer, typed a short letter, printed it out, and then signed it. “Here you go,” he said, handing the letter to Golic.

    Kevin walked the two men to the front door and said goodbye. He watched as they got into a Black Mercedes, with Golic driving.

    “Who was that pair?” Diane asked suspiciously as Kevin returned to the living room to find that Ellen had gone to bed.

    “That’s the guy from the Serbian Embassy and my new investigator, who happens to be my client’s brother-in-law.”

    “That huge guy is an investigator? He looks like a bouncer. What are they doing coming to our house at night?”

    “They said they were in the area.”

    “Why do they want to help all of a sudden?”

    “I don’t know why things changed with the Embassy. But it can’t hurt. If the brother-in-law doesn’t work out, I’ll just get another investigator.”

    “I don’t feel good about any of this,” Diane said warily as she turned to go into their bedroom. “Not who you’re defending and not who wants to help.”

    “I know how you feel, Diane, and I understand. But honey, we came a long way for me to have the experience of trying cases at the Tribunal. I’m finally doing it, even if it’s on the other side of the courtroom. I’m in my element. I can handle it.”

    The next day, Kevin received three boxes jammed with papers. The first box contained a cover letter from Bradford Stone. “Enclosed are pages 1-5843 of the disclosure materials,” he wrote. “You are reminded of the protective measures adopted by the Court. You may only distribute copies to your client and persons working for you. You are also required to maintain a log of all copies that are distributed. At the end of the case, all copies and originals must be returned to the Office of the Prosecutor.”

    Kevin lugged the boxes over to his desk. He pulled out a stack of papers from the front of the top box where the cover letter had been. There was no index, and the papers, although in numerical order, were a collection of diverse pages from different witnesses in no apparent order. The first page was the beginning of an interview with one witness, the second page was a page from the middle of another witness’ interview, and so on.

    
The old prosecution shuffle
. Before numbering the disclosure, someone had shuffled all of the papers together like a deck of cards. The material was all mixed up. The prosecution had an obligation to provide disclosure, but was not required to organize it for the defense. Kevin had run across this sort of pettiness before. It would take him time to organize the materials, but time was one thing Kevin had.

    He started separating the materials by the town or village where the events that were being talked about occurred. When he had gone through the first box, he had thirty-seven different piles. It had taken him almost four hours. After sorting the next two boxes, he would then have to go through each pile and try to gather the pages from each witness’ statement and put them together.