The Hanging Judge

"I'm 25," James said.

"I'm 23, Julie answered.

"How long have you been married?"

"Our third anniversary is next month," Julie replied.

"Good. Now Julie, why did you file for this divorce?" Before she could answer Lowell looked at James. "Please don't interrupt James. You'll get you say after Julie is finished. I promise."

"Well...." Julie began. "James called me and said he had a business dinner to go to and wouldn't be home until much later. A friend of mine saw him going into an elevator at the Hyatt with a blond woman. He was holding her by the arm and they were laughing and smiling. Then when the credit card bill came the next month, there was a charge for a room at the Hyatt on that same night. And..."

"Okay, that's enough for now Julie," Lowell stopped her. He could see that she was getting mad all over again. If his plan was going to work he needed both of them in a logical state of mind.

"Is that your friend sitting in the front row Julie?"

"Yes, that's Sally," Julie answered.

"Sally would you stand up please," Lowell requested. She stood and Lowell said, "Same rules for you. I'm not going to have you sworn but please tell the truth." Sally nodded. "Would you tell me what you saw that evening please?"

"I was in the lounge at the Hyatt with some people from work," Sally said. "I was leaving and I saw James with an older blond woman waiting in front of the elevator. When the doors opened he took her arm and they went into the elevator. They were smiling and just before the door closed I saw James laughing."

"I see. Did James put his arm around the woman or hug her? Did he kiss her or show any other signs of affection?"

"No sir. But they were smiling at some comment the woman had made and he took her by the elbow," Sally replied.

"Thank you Sally. You may be seated." Turning to James he said, "Okay James now it's your turn."

"I came home the night the credit card bill came in the mail, and Julie started screaming at me. She waved the bill in my face and accused me of sleeping with someone. I didn't know what she was talking about and tried to get her to explain. But she was so mad she wouldn't listen to me. After about twenty minutes I'd had enough and I left. She wouldn't even let me...."

"Where did you go James?" Lowell asked trying to defuse the young man's anger.

"I drove around for a while and then got a motel room. I was going to go home but I didn't want to face Julie yelling at me again."

"When did you talk to her again?" Lowell asked.

"Well I called her at her work the next day about lunch time. I thought we could meet for lunch and talk," James replied. "But she yelled at me some more and then started crying. So I stayed at the motel for a couple of days. I did call her to tell her where I was staying."

"And what did she say?"

"I never got to talk to her. Her friend Sally said Julie didn't want to see or talk to me." James took a deep breath. "I tried several more times for the next week but couldn't talk to her. Then I was served with divorce papers at my job."

Lowell turned back to Julie. "Why did you file for divorce without talking to your husband? I'm not criticizing, I just want the facts."

"Sally and some of my other friends said I should file," Julie said. "They said it would scare him, make him confess, and he'd never do anything like that again. They said then we could get on with our lives."

"And how did that work for you?" Judge Lowell asked. At the same time he frowned at Julie's friend. Sally put her head down and her face got red at the silent rebuke from Lowell.

"It didn't," Julie replied with tears in her eyes. "I called James to get together and discuss our problems but he refused to talk to me. His receptionist told me that she wasn't allowed to forward my calls to him." Julie was crying by now. She sniffed a couple of times and added, "Then I was served with divorce papers too."

"Why did you file James," Lowell asked. "I mean you said all you wanted to do was talk to Julie so you could explain about that evening at the Hyatt. Why didn't you take Julie's calls?"

"Some friends at work told me I should file too; just to protect myself." James took another deep breath and let it out with a whoosh. "I was really mad that Julie wouldn't let me explain. Hell I was mad because she even accused me of screwing around." He turned toward Julie. "You should know I love you too much to do something like that."

"Please talk directly to me James," Lowell instructed. "So explain to me what happened at the Hyatt and who is this blond woman."

"That's Mrs. Tanner. She and her husband Bill were the people I had dinner with. We were talking about my company doing a big project for them. Their trip was a last minute decision and they asked me to book a room for them. They reimbursed me for the charge on my credit card." In spite of Lowell's instructions, James looked and talked directly to Julie.

"What about the smiling and laughing, taking her arm, and escorting her into an elevator?" The Judge asked.

"Mr. Tanner had gone up to their room to get a file for me but he couldn't find it," James said. "He called Mrs. Tanner and asked her to come up and find it for him." James turned to face Julie. "We were laughing because she said he couldn't find his head if it wasn't attached. I took her by the elbow as we went into the elevator. It just something gentlemen do for ladies."

Julie had gotten some tissues and was trying to dry her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me this before James? Oh, sorry Judge. Would you ask him why he didn't tell me?"

Lowell smiled at the young wife. "James?"

"You wouldn't....Sorry," he said and turned back toward Lowell. "She wouldn't let me Judge. Every time I tried to say anything she'd just yell louder. She told me to shut up when I tried to talk. Then she wouldn't take my calls or return my messages." James hung his head. "When I was served with divorce papers, I guess I went off the deep end. I counter sued and then it was me that refused to talk to her."

Lowell nodded and sat back in his chair. "You both may return to your seats," he told the young people. He waited for them to rejoin their attorneys.

"Do either of the counselors feel I've been unfair or partial to either party?" Lowell asked. Both attorneys shook their heads no. "Julie and James do you feel that I've given both of you a chance to have your say?" Both Julie and James nodded.

"Good," Lowell said. "I suppose I owe you all an explanation as to why I've conducted this hearing in the way that I have." He got nods from everyone including Sally sitting in the front row.

"I received an invitation to play golf with a couple of old friends a few weeks ago. These men and I have known each other for better than 30 years; ever since college to be exact. One of those men is the Chief of Detectives of our police department; that's your Uncle Bob, Julie. The other friend is the President of our Chamber of Commerce; that's your father James."

Both of the young people were more than surprised that Judge Lowell even knew their relatives much less consider them good friends.

"As much as I liked taking their money on the golf course, the real reason for the invitation was to discuss you two and this divorce," Lowell said. "Both of them are concerned about you. They said you both were stubborn, pig headed, and have anger issues." Lowell looked directly at Julie and then at James.

"After hearing from both of you today, I'm inclined to believe your families are right. I know hindsight is 20 20 but Julie you should have at least questioned James instead of attacking him. You also should have been calm enough to listen to what he had to say."

He turned back to James. "And you young man, should have continued trying to explain to your wife. You let your own anger and pride get in your way. Were it me I would have camped out on Julie's doorstep until she had to step over me or listen to what I had to say. I would have gone to her place of employment and raised so much hell that she would have talked to me just to avoid the embarrassment."

Lowell smiled at the youngsters. "I know that's easy for me to say after the fact but it doesn't mean it isn't true. What I see here are two young people who love each other very much. I see two young people who received bad advice from well intentioned friends." Lowell stopped and looked over the top of his reading glasses at Sally.

He waited several seconds to let what he'd said sink in. "I'm not going to grant this divorce at this time. Both Julie and James are directed to attend anger management classes. You will meet with those people for a minimum of six weeks. You may attend together or separately but you will attend. At the completion of those sessions if you still want a divorce I will grant it. That is my ruling. Court's adjourned."

"All rise," Percy ordered as Judge Lowell stood to leave. He came from behind the bench and stood between the two tables that held the co plaintiffs and co defendants.

"As I said earlier counselors if you or your clients feel my handling of this action was not fair and impartial, present your briefs for appeal by end of business tomorrow," Lowell ordered. "I'll see that they're fast tracked and get you another hearing within a week."

"I don't think that will be necessary Your Honor," Sam Collins said. He pointed to Julie and James who were in each other's arms; hanging on for dear life. "I think, in this case, your way was the best way to go sir."

Lowell smiled, first at the sight of Julie and James and then at Collins. "Are you trying to butter me up Mr. Collins?"

"No sir. I'm stating a fact. Results are what counts and we got the right results today," Collins replied.

Lowell nodded and walked over to the young couple. They turned to face the Judge. "A piece of advice Mr. and Mrs. Thomas; not from a judge but from a man that's been married for almost 30 years; and happily so I might add. The one phrase you need to remember is 'talking is better than fighting'. Follow that and you two will last as long as Mrs. Lowell and I have."

He turned and went to his chambers. This time his step was lighter and he had a smile on his face. He hung up his robe, sat down and gazed out his window. The smile was still on his face when Percy came in.

"The Wisdom of Solomon Judge. That's what you had today," Percy laughed. "Yes sir the Wisdom of Solomon."

Lowell laughed at his bailiff. "Not quite Percy. I had an ace up my sleeve. James Thomas Sr. told me what his boy had told him. I contacted Mr. and Mrs. Tanner and verified the boy's story before I got Julie and James in front of me. Now I owe Judge Gilbert a favor. He was the one that drew this case and I persuaded him to let me handle it."

"Don't care. Not many Judges would have care enough to get involved." Percy paused and smiled again. "You remember what you said the other day? That you wanted to make a difference. Well you sure made a difference for those two youngsters. And I don't think another Judge in the Superior Court would have done what you did. Yes sir, the Wisdom of Solomon for sure. Good night Judge."

It was a different Randal Lowell that came home that evening. Instead of plodding into the house slumped over, he stood tall and strode with force and purpose. His eyes instead of being a little sad and guarded were bright and intense. The mood surrounding Randal for the last few days was solemn and introspective. Now he was smiling and extroverted.

"Woman of the house," Randal called laughing as he walked toward the kitchen. "Your husband is home. Where's my drink?

He began to tell Mary about his day before he even got to the kitchen. When he stepped around the doorway he snapped his mouth shut and his eyes opened wide in surprise.

Mary stood in the middle of the room holding his drink; that wasn't what surprised him. She was dressed in an apron that tied around her neck and stopped four inches above her knees. She wore the apron and nothing else except for high heels. It'd been some time since he'd seen her dressed or undressed like that in the afternoon.

"Your drink My Lord," Mary said and laughed at the look on Randal's face. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes Sire."

He took the offered drink, drained it and sat the glass on the countertop. "Dinner can wait," Randal responded. Bending at the waist he picked Mary up, put her across his shoulder in a firemen's carry, and started down the hallway to the bedroom.

Mary laughed and struggled kicking her legs up and down. "Put me down you brute. Dinner will be ruined," she protested through her laughter.

"Let it," Randal replied. He playfully swatted the nude backside of his wife and continued to the bedroom.

Later that evening, much later, they were at the kitchen table having a dinner of sandwiches and soup. Mary's pot roast had been burned beyond recognition. Randal was dressed in a pair of baggy shorts and T shirt. Mary was wearing a lightweight robe and a smile.

"It's been a while since I've had my husband really here," she said with a grin. "Nice to have him back."

"Nice to be back," Randal admitted as he stared at the wall. "I guess I have been moody the last few weeks. But I had a case today that sort of made up for all the sleaze balls and cheats I normally see." Turning his eyes back to his wife he added, "Today I made a difference. A real difference in a young couple's lives."

"I know," Mary said. "Percy called and told me about the Thomas case and what you did." She stood, walked over to Randal's chair and sat down on his lap. "I'm so proud of you honey. To quote Percy, you done good Judge."

As they hugged with Mary's head on Randal's shoulder she said, "But I don't know about this Wisdom of Solomon business though."

Randal grinned. "The Thomas case is responsible for a major part of my good mood but my next case is responsible for the rest of it."

Mary leaned back to look at Randal's face. "Don't keep me waiting. What new case?"

"The next case is a major lawsuit between a group of tenants and an absentee slum lord. Should be very interesting," Randal said with a grin.

"I feel sorry for whoever is in the wrong there," Mary replied. "The Hanging Judge is hot on the trail. God help them."

The End

Note:

I've included this definition for the Superior Court in my state. Some states may have a different name or duties for this court.

Woodmanone

"The Arizona Court System is an official, public forum, which was established to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, administrative and criminal justice under the law.

SUPERIOR COURT also known as the General Jurisdiction court handles the following types of cases.

* Most serious criminal offenses—felonies
* Family issues—divorce, custody, and delinquency
* Case involving care and protection of minors and protection against spousal abuse
* Civil matters, domestic relations and major lawsuits