A Cheater's Trial

Showing his prejudice, Judge Moore granted Amy's motion but did throw us a bone. "If reconciliation does not work out and Mr. Bristol prevails at trial then Mrs. Bristol will pay two months interest at 4% per annum on any money Mr. Bristol is entitled to aside from the division of assets."

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Ron cautioned me to follow the instructions in the Order during the reconciliation procedures so as not to give the Court a reason to sanction me. He told me not to swear, no matter how tempted. "Is the word 'slut' a swearword?" I asked him.

"No, but don't use it. Call her a grossly unfaithful spouse," Ron replied, with a smile.

Not surprisingly two days before the ordered mediation session I got a letter from Chester Grimes -- I had refused to answer his phone calls or even to listen to his messages. The letter was very conciliatory and offered me my old job back at twice the salary and commission. I saved it in case Ron could use it as evidence, but never responded to it.

No attorneys were allowed at the mediation, just the parties.

Amy arrived at the mediation session dressed to kill. She is a sexy, sensuous women and her wardrobe, makeup and hair style were impeccable. If I didn't hate her I would have loved to bend her over the mediator's couch and fuck the shit out of her.

Since the Order said nothing about dress I came in cutoff jeans, sandals, and an old college T-shirt riddled with holes. Amy hated that shirt and had tried to throw it away twice. I also hadn't shaved in two days and my hair was uncombed and unwashed. Amy took one look at me and knew that it was over, but she tried anyway undoubtedly motivated only by the $500,000.

"Mr. Bristol, I'm surprised by your appearance," the mediator said.

"The Order said nothing about dress, and this is how I chose to appear. I'm sorry if it doesn't meet your approval," I replied, trying to avoid a sarcastic tone, but probably not succeeding.

The mediator then went over the procedure, while Amy and I remained silent.

Even though I was the petitioner she let Amy talk first. "As the petitioner don't I get to talk first?" I asked.

"As the mediator I can determine the order of discussion," she shot back, obviously still perturbed by my appearance.

Amy was a great actress. She said how much she loved me and wondered why I was suspicious of her. She talked about all the great times that we had had together, and cried where appropriate for dramatic effect. She took a good half hour.

Either the mediator was touched by Amy's bullshit, or was trying to fix the proceedings, because once Amy finished she turned to me with misty eyes and said "Mr. Bristol, what would you like to say to your dear wife, who has just bared her soul?"

"She's not a dear wife. She is a serial cheater, has been grossly unfaithful to me, and also is a liar as clearly evidenced by her story that I beat her. Her entire presentation was an act in an attempt to save $500,000. I don't know if she ever loved me but I don't care. I don't love her -- in fact I hate her -- and I want to get a divorce as quickly as possible so that I can move on with my life."

The mediator and Amy were shocked.

During the rest of the session I tersely answered questions or responded to statements from both the mediator and Amy. The only more than four word reply I gave during the rest of the session was when tearful Amy said "You never even gave me a chance to explain about why Reginald was there before you went ballistic."

"I told you then, in no uncertain terms, to get a vaginal swab to prove that you didn't have sex with him, or to accuse him of rape, and that if you didn't I was divorcing you. It was your choice; live with it." That was not well received.

As a last desperate gesture, the mediator said, "Mr. Bristol I want you to stand, go over to Amy, and give her a hug to see if that rekindles any feelings in you."

I quickly responded "I didn't see any requirement in the Order for me to have to hug her, and the idea of even touching my grossly unfaithful soon-to-be ex-wife makes my skin crawl. Since I don't want to lose my breakfast I decline."

Amy jumped out of her chair, started swearing at me as loudly as she could, and likely would have hit me if the mediator hadn't intervened. As the mediator was trying to calm Amy down -- the big grin on my face probably wasn't helping that situation -- the mediator said "You can go, Mr. Bristol."

The mediator reported to the Court that there was no hope of reconciliation so the Court dissolved the stay and discovery proceeded.

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During discovery Amy's attorney took my deposition. I answered all her questions truthfully except for two. They were "Did you ever actually witness Mrs. Bristol having sex with another man before the divorce petition was filed?" and "Did you ever see Reginald Swifton at your house while you were married and before the divorce petition was filed?" I'm basically honest, but not stupid.

After several months of pretrial proceedings, during which Judge Moore demonstrated his bias whenever possible while still protecting the record for appeal, the trial was set for two months after discovery closed. Ron had not taken Amy's deposition -- "For strategic reasons," -- he told me. However, he did have Amy's response to Interrogatories where she swore that she never had sex with another man while married and before the divorce petition was filed.

During the trial we presented our circumstantial case of infidelity by three o'clock of the first day. Since we had enough evidence to resist a motion for directed verdict -- despite how biased Moore was he knew that he'd be reversed on appeal if he granted it -- it was now the respondent's turn to present her case. Of course Amy's star witness was Amy herself.

Under oath Amy denied ever having sex with another man while married. At some points Judge Moore looked a little uncomfortable, but for the most part he was eating out of her hand, and overruled essentially every objection that Ron made. When she finished it was almost five o'clock so Judge Moore ordered that cross would begin at nine the next morning.

As we were getting our papers together to leave, a guy came up to Ron with a big smile on his face. When Ron saw him he returned the smile. I had seen the guy sitting in the courtroom during Amy's testimony but didn't know who he was.

"Blake, this is Dan Drake, a friend of mine," Ron said. I shook Drake's hand with a perplexed look on my face. "I have some information for you, Ron," Drake said, his grin even wider. "It relates to impeachment of Amy Bristol's testimony."

"Let's go to my office and order dinner in," Ron cackled, as the three of us took off.

At Ron's office Drake showed us one DVD of naked Amy riding James Watkins to orgasm, her big tits flopping as he called out her name. Drake said that he had another DVD but Ron stopped him from showing it to us. "I just want you to testify about the date of your second DVD. If it is what I think it is -- but don't know for sure -- I don't want to see it now, and I'm sure it will never be shown in Court."

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Promptly at nine the next morning Ron started his cross of Amy. After questioning her about Reginald's visit the day that I witnessed him fucking her he asked "Do you know a man named James Watkins?"

"Yes," she hesitantly replied.

"Is his wife Jamie Watkins?"

"Yes."

"When did you first meet him?"

"I don't recall, exactly."

"Wasn't it at a party at your father's house eighteen months ago when he attended it with his wife, Jamie?"

"Maybe."

"Hadn't he just moved to town and started working for your father one month before that?"

"I guess so?"

"Well was it, or wasn't it? Do we need to call him or Mrs. Jamie Watkins to testify?" Ron snarled, his pleasant demeanor suddenly gone.

After an uncomfortable pause Amy stammered out, "Yes, I remember now; that party about eighteen months ago was when I first met him."

"So you never met him before you were married, did you?"

"No..." Amy hesitantly replied.

"Mrs. Bristol, did you ever have sex with Mr. James Watkins?"

"No, no; you keep accusing me of cheating," Amy whimpered, then started to cry.

"Your honor I'd like to play a DVD at the present time. Because of its nature I ask that it be displayed only on the monitors at counsels' tables, the bench, and the witness stand, not on the main courtroom monitor."

"Very well, Mr. Botts; bailiff, please hit the right buttons to make that happen will you," Judge Moore said. After a pause and a nod from the bailiff Ron pushed the play button on the DVD player."

Amy screamed, and then covered her mouth with her hands, as she saw what appeared on the screen.

"Is this video of you and Mr. Watkins having sex, Mrs. Bristol?" Ron asked after it played for about sixty seconds.

"No, no, no, it's a fake! Turn it off," Amy sobbed.

"No further questions, your honor. If there's no redirect I'd like to call Dan Drake to the stand."

"No redirect," Amanda MacAfee said, wincing, as Amy exited the witness stand in tears. "However, I have an objection. This video was never produced to us during discovery, and should not be used for any purpose."

"Actually, your honor, I didn't become aware of it until about seven o'clock last night, but that is irrelevant. The DVD and the testimony of Mr. Dan Drake, who will authenticate it, are being used ONLY to impeach Mrs. Bristol's testimony, not for any other purpose."

Judge Moore was uncomfortable but had no choice. "The objection is overruled; if properly authenticated I'll allow the DVD for the purpose of impeachment only."

Dan Drake was a confident and composed witness. After Ron ran him through his qualifications he authenticated the DVD, explained that he filmed the video at Mr. & Mrs. Watkins' house with his client's, Mrs. Jamie Watkins', permission, and that it was of James Watkins and Amy Bristol having sex while she was married to Blake Bristol and before the divorce petition was filed.

Judge Moore now looked extremely uncomfortable, especially when Ron asked Drake, "Do you have another video of Mrs. Bristol having sex with another married man while she was married to Mr. Bristol?"

"Yes," Drake excitedly answered.

"What is the date of that video, Mr. Drake?"

"July 4, 2012," Drake responded, looking directly at Judge Moore.

Judge Moore interrupted.

"I need to see lead counsel and the parties in my chambers right now."

When we got into chambers the Judge removed his robe then sat pensively. Finally he spoke.

"Ms. MacAfee, your client Mrs. Bristol appears to have committed perjury. I may be obligated to bring this to the D. A.'s attention and certainly comment on it if I write an opinion. I'm going to recess the trial for twenty four hours. I suggest that you work out a settlement during that time."

Amy looked down at the floor and Amanda MacAfee appeared shell-shocked, but resigned.

"If you don't, you won't like what happens next," Moore continued. "Unless someone has a very good reason to present additional evidence, I'm ruling that testimony is closed in this case. I'll also entertain a motion that the record be sealed."

By four that afternoon, Amy had written me a check for $500,000, plus interest, had paid all of Ron's fees and disbursements, and had signed a document agreeing to the divorce and giving me 60% of our assets, not the 50% set forth in the prenup. That extra 10% was just my little extra dig. In return we settled the case with prejudice, promised not to bring Amy's perjury to the D A's attention, and filed a joint order to have the divorce granted for irreconcilable differences and the record sealed.

That very afternoon Judge Moore anxiously approved the settlement, granted the divorce, and sealed the record.

When Ron, a few others from his office, Dan Drake, and -- surprisingly, Jamie Watkins -- and I went out to dinner to celebrate that night I whispered a question to Ron. "Why was Moore so insistent on getting this concluded, and the record sealed?"

"Of course I have no actual knowledge of this," Ron grinned, "otherwise as an officer of the Court I would have had to have filed a motion to recuse Moore and report him to the Ethics Commission. However, I'm betting that he had a personal interest in the matter," Ron said, his grin now having morphed into a truly diabolical one. After thinking a few seconds I didn't have to ask any follow-up questions.

Four months later I read that Judge Matt Moore and his wife Elizabeth Moore had been granted a divorce for "irreconcilable differences." The details weren't made public but I did notice that when around town Judge Moore was now driving a five year old Ford, whereas when I met him at the Fourth of July party in 2012 he had been driving a new Mercedes!