Gotta Pay the Piper Ch. 16

Lou stopped by on her way home to give us an update. "Here is the deal. Helen is not in charge of the case. It went to one of the junior assistants. He is barely an associate. She is going to counsel him and try to get him to listen to reason but he is one of those hard charging types who wants to score a few wins. And this is an easy win for him." I asked how that could be since it was a total accident Gretchen got hurt.

"Her getting hurt was unintentional but the fight was not." Lou explained. "The law sees this as analogous to a couple guys going in to rob a store. One stands at the door as lookout. The other pulls out a pistol and tells the clerk to give him the money. The guy with the gun is stupid and drops the gun and it fires and the clerk is hit. The shooting is accidental but the robbery is not. The robber goes down for armed robbery, assault and maybe even attempted homicide. The lookout is just as liable because he was party to the robbery."

"What can we do?" I asked.

"Explain to the judge and hope he goes easy on the two. He is almost certainly going to find Sherrie guilty since it was her fist that hit Gretchen. Whether he convicts the other girl as well depends on how he views her actions. Whether she was fighting or not."

"But Jennifer started the whole argument. She told Sherrie she'd destroyed all the diplomas and certificates." I protested.

"Her instigating the fight is secondary to whether she was physically fighting herself." Lou declared. I said it did not seem fair. "Fair and even justice sometimes does not play out in court. It is what can be proven and what the law says that prevails." Lou grinned at me as she said, "You seem pretty hot to defend a slave you did not want in the first place. One you've only owned for something like three hours."

"I know." I said. "But Lenore insisted we buy her and I hate to see anybody railroaded. I think justice should prevail."

Lou shook her head. "This IS justice or at least the law that was designed to protect society. The idea is to make it clear that any and all incidents of violence on the part of a slave where a free person is injured is met with harsh punishment. And once the incident is reported, it has to go through the full course. Remember when you reported Joanne for theft of those jewels? Once you started the process it went all the way. And she got fifteen years added to her enslavement, the full sentence allowed. A free person might have got only ten and had part of that suspended."

I glanced over at Joanne who was listening. She frowned and looked as if she might cry. We had discussed her extended sentence a few times. She knew it was her fault since she refused to confess even when caught.

I asked when we would go to court. "I'm guessing the day after tomorrow. It will take the junior assistant DA that long to file and get it on the docket. I'm assuming you want me to represent your slave?" I nodded. Gretchen said she wanted Lou to represent Jennifer as well.

"I don't want to lose my slave because of this." Gretchen said. "I want the chance to blister the little bitch's butt for all this trouble."

Lou laughed. "Oh, you are in NO danger of losing your slave. You are more likely to own her longer. I'll be willing to bet her enslavement is going to be extended significantly as well."

Lou's words were right on the money. Two days later in the afternoon session, we sat in front of Judge Boudreaux. He had already reviewed the particulars for the case. He listened to our testimonies as witnesses pretty much as a courtesy. He called me and few other witnesses to verify the police reports and our original statements were accurate. Then he convicted Sherrie of assault on a free person. I raised my hand. He called on me.

"My name is Bastiene Landry, your honor." I said. "You asked if our statements were correct and we verified they were, but there is more to the story than what they disclosed." He nodded for me to continue. "Gretchen Prejean's injury was totally accidental like I said earlier. She stepped in to break up the two fighting women. It was only because she was faster on her feet than me that she beat me to the two. I want you to also consider that the girls were upset when they realized Gretchen got hurt. I do not think it is fair for them to have their enslavements extended because of an accident."

Judge Boudreaux looked at me with one raised eyebrow. He smiled. "I am surprised you are quick to defend a slave. An honest man. Most slave owners would be happy to have a slave's sentence extended. For your benefit and for those in the gallery, I am going to explain the rationale here."

"Any time a slave gets violent and a free person is harmed, it gets a LOT of attention. Slaves as a whole are not treated kindly. Most of society think of them as objects rather than people. Fully deserving of whatever treatment or mistreatment they receive. One reason other than the obvious humanitarian ones we have laws to prevent full abuse of slaves is to prevent slaves from feeling they have nothing left to lose or no recourse and then seeking revenge. At the same time any slave that DOES get violent and harms a free citizen is treated harshly. The penalty might be several times what a free citizen would get for the same act. Men who attack may find themselves essentially emasculated or put to death. Each case is widely publicized and in general, that serves as a deterrent for any slave entertaining the idea of retribution. Here we have a case where the free person was not the target but still a victim. The way the law looks at it is still from a jaundiced view."

"First of all a conflict between two slaves is not a crime. It is the duty of their owner or owners to handle the altercation. It is only when a free person gets injured that the courts get involved. The statutes are clear, when a free person is deliberately injured by a slave, then the slave is guilty. AHH, Ahh. Wait and hear me out." he said when I began to protest. "The free person need not be the target of a deliberate attack. The fight was deliberate. Therefore any injuries sustained as a result is considered deliberate as well."

"Like a robber dropping a gun, it firing, and somebody getting hurt." I said. "My lawyer explained that part. But knowing that should mitigate the sentence down to a minimum even if the case is valid and the slave found guilty." The judge nodded and grinned at Lou.

"Yes, I'm glad Ms Player explained the law. But there is more to it." the judge said. "The public does not realize that all court decisions are reviewed at random. Some things flag a case for review. A judge seeing too many of one type of case with the same parties is one condition. That is to prevent collusion between prosecutors and judges to unjustly convict and enslave. In the past there were times a crooked judge and a prosecutor would convict innocent people and enslave them on trumped up charges. Reviews stopped the practice."

"Now at the same time there is a system in place where certain crimes are automatically reported to the courts. A gunshot is one. Every gunshot is reported and fully investigated. Cases where a free person is injured at the hands of a slave are also reported. Emergency services are obligated to report to the police. The police are obligated to investigate and then pass their findings along. If certain criteria are hit, then it goes to court. Personal discretion is taken out of the equation. The same thing happens for the legal review committees"

"A percentage of all my cases will be reviewed randomly. Think of it as an appeal that is not sought by the convicted. Some types of cases are reviewed one hundred percent of the time. Assault of a free person by a slave is one of those. That review board could accept my verdict or throw it out if it was felt I did not follow the law. In other words if certain points of law were present, I am not only obligated to convict, I cannot just let a slave go unscathed. The review committee could actually step in and increase the sentence if they rule against me and say I did not hand down at least the minimum sentence. And suspending the sentence or offering probation is also not allowed. I must sufficiently defend my decision in writing. I will be composing a report of my findings after this case to add to the file."

"There are mandatory sentences. But I do have some leeway to be as fair as possible." Judge Boudreaux said. "A deliberate assault with intent to maim or kill would get a much longer sentence of course. But if I set aside ANY punishment the review board would likely step in and counter. To make sure that does not happen, I am going to extend the defendant, Sheryl Dupree's enslavement another three years." Sherrie began to cry.

The judge began to pick up his gavel. I raised my hand again and he nodded again to acknowledge me. "Your honor. I understand what you explained, but if Sherrie is to be found guilty for accidentally injuring a free woman shouldn't the other party in the fight also be found equally guilty? Like the lookout for a botched armed robbery where a person is shot?"

Judge Boudreaux nodded. "I agree. The prosecution did not file that case. YET. I am waiting for the filing."

The associate from the district attorney's office began to stammer. "According to testimony it was Sheryl Dupree's fist that hit Ms Prejean. Jennifer Guidry admitted to antagonizing Dupree but said she was being hit but not fighting herself." I could tell he had not looked far into the details. He had gone for the quick win.

"That is not true your honor." I said. "I heard Jennifer's testimony about her original statement. Both times she lied. She was fighting back as much as she could. She only stopped and covered her head when she saw Gretchen step up to break them apart." I said. Jennifer jumped up and screamed she did not lie.

"I was the one being hit." Jennifer declared. "Mr. Bas was not close enough to see me duck my head and cover as soon as I could. Those other slaves are just mad at me because I told that bitch I destroyed her diplomas. Plus they are afraid she will beat them up when she goes home with them. She is strong and violent and they know it."

One look at the gathered slaves showed what they thought of this idea. They were not lying and immediately said so.

With this new information, the judge asked a few of them for details. They all said Jennifer was actively swinging, fighting as hard as she could until Gretchen arrived. "Why is this just now being brought out?" the judge asked the prosecution. The poor DA associate stammered and said he knew of the conflicting testimony but wanted to try the one case first. He was trying desperately to cover his butt and the judge could tell. The judge frowned to show he was not happy but decided to throw the new prosecutor a lifeline. "So you wanted to waste even more court time with two cases instead of one where the evidence and all parties are the same. Well, let's get the paperwork in order. I'll give you an hour continuance while I take care of the next case on my docket."

An hour later we reconvened. Judge Boudreaux sentenced both slaves to an additional three years of enslavement, stating that was the minimum he could award. He gave Jennifer an extra year for perjury for her testimony she was not fighting at all but the victim of the assault. Both slaves were distraught and openly cried.

"That's not very fair." I groused after we left. "An extra three years of enslavement."

Lou rounded on me, "That IS fair, Bas. It could easily have been five years, even more than her original sentence. There are very few mitigating circumstances for a female slave to injure or as the law sees it, ATTACK a free person. One is where the slave girl is being sexually assaulted. If she punches, bites, kicks or whatever and then runs away from her attacker, she might not get charged. Remember, rape of a slave is not rape. It is trespass on another person's property. In the case of a girl repelling her attacker, she might be forgiven. Of course if you get a girl like Clarice who is trained in martial arts and NOT inclined to back down you'll have a whole different set of circumstances. Clarice would bust heads or stomp balls and probably wind up being enslaved for life, whether her actions are justified or not. Caroline is careful to not get herself into a risky situation and I know she told your girls the same thing. That is for REPORTED assaults. You can bet many go unreported where the slave girl got away and the guy who got punched or kicked in the balls refuses to report it."

"You heard about what happened to Lenore's ex-husband. He hit her and Wanda in front of witnesses and glowered at them like he wanted to continue the assault. That just sealed his fate. A male gets a much harsher reaction than a female. Case studies show a male is far more likely than a female to get violent in the first place. A guilty female is just as likely as a male to get a long sentence but a male is more vulnerable to have his anatomy altered to prevent future violence. It is easy to neuter a male to make him passive, not so with a female. Rape is even more common than a male slave fighting or attacking a free person. That is why most men you see are caged as a physical barrier." Lou said. "Of course a cage is effective as a method of discipline as well."

"One thing that is really going to upset your slave is she was hoping to convince Lenore to free her early. She'd only have to serve two years to be eligible for early manumission. But because of this conviction, early release is off the table. She will serve her entire seven year sentence." Lou explained.

"Wow, from a possible two years to seven years for an act that took seconds." Joanne said that evening. We were discussing the case at the dinner table. Sherrie looked down at her plate, trying to hide her tears. Understandably, thinking about her plight she had burst into tears a few times since we arrived home. "We'd talked about possible early manumission in our free time at slave camp."

"Rachael told me you'd asked about early release in one of her sessions." I revealed. "She said she always mentions it but you wanted details. We'll have to think about it in fifteen years or so." I said. "It could have been seven had you not been so hard-headed." Joanne nodded silently as her eyes filled with tears.

After dinner, I walked into the room Sonya shared with Robin. Sonya had assigned Joanne to sleep with Charlene since the school break began, but she still spent most of her time with Robin. Sonya was busy in the kitchen discussing house rules with Sherrie and assigning her work duties. "So what else did you learn at slave camp?" I asked. I did not want to prompt them.

Joanne colored brightly. "Dad...uhh Bas, one thing we learned is we don't have it bad here compared to other slaves. I uhh, we hate being slaves of course but we are treated pretty well. We only really knew the girls at the Hacienda. But from what we heard from those girls, most of those slaves get their butts beat raw any time they step the slightest bit out of line. Several said they spend the majority of their time at home naked. Some have to be very formal calling their owner 'master', stuff like that. And almost all have to ask permission to do much of anything."

"Most have little freedom at all.The ones who work are monitored very closely." Robin reported. "For instance, one girl was invited by two female coworkers to stop at a bar for a drink after work. She had just been enslaved a week or so before and they took her for a drink after work to welcome her back. She did not think to ask permission and only stayed at the bar a little while. She was home and cooking supper for her owner when he got home. He welted her butt and thighs. And that was after he confirmed her story it was only the three women and they only had one drink. She was punished for not asking permission. Apparently the owner tracked her collar."

"Most of the owners don't have the same reluctance to share their girls you and Derek do." Joanne said. "Several of the girls said that if somebody comes over to visit, they are almost sure to at least give the visitor a blow job. Well, if it's a guy. They service female friends too. Two described how they were passed around during football game parties. All three holes. When they got too messy, they'd be told to shower, douche and hurry back." I said I was just stingy. I did not like to share my toys. Both girls smiled back.

"One thing we realized talking to those other slave girls was how close that conservatorship thing was to their reality of being slaves. The way we conceived it working was we'd be completely in charge. We couldn't let others use you for sex of course. But the whole control issue, and spanking you if you disobeyed is very close to their life. We just wanted control to make the house run the way we wanted. We feel bad about it now. It's too late to change us being slaves, but we wanted you to know." Joanne said. Robin nodded.

Finally I asked about what they heard about Lenore. Joanne froze, her eyes widening as she exchanged a nervous glance with Robin. "Please? If we say anything will it come back on us?" I shook my head and reminded her about my rule about honesty and being respectful. "Well, we can be honest but there is no way we can tell you and be totally respectful." Joanne offered. I leaned back on their bed and told them to do the best they could.

"I suppose Lenore told you her history?" Joanne asked. I nodded. "Even how her Mom and cousin treated her? We met Dr. Marge when we got our implants to stop our periods. She is, well, pretty abrupt with slaves. We had to get naked for the implants, not just drop our pants to expose our butts. Dr Marge said anytime she sees a slave, they are nude. Lenore even fidgeted a little in her presence and we wondered why. Sherrie told us Dr Marge used to boss Lenore around and even discipline Lenore as an older teen and again when she moved back home as an adult. We laughed at the idea of Dr Marge spanking Lenore as an adult free woman."

"Sherrie told us how Lenore and her roommates played master and slave games in college. They would switch roles based on contests or betting on who got the better grades. Sherrie got a kick out of visiting to see which girls would be naked. Their standing rule was the designated slave had to stay in slave role whenever in the apartment. Any visitors allowed over already knew of the whole arrangement so it was no problem for the designated slave to be nude and be subservient. It was pretty kinky according to Sherrie. She said she'd asked her sister to let her use Lenore a few times but her sister always refused. I guess they didn't let their games go too far."

"Sherrie just started telling you all this?" I asked. Joanne blushed and shook her head.

"Sherrie asked us about the man and woman who enrolled us into slave camp. I told her you owned us but the woman was your girlfriend. She questioned us a little about her. We got to talking and when she admitted they were old acquaintances we pretty much told her everything she wanted to know about Lenore. Honestly we thought it was all just catty conversation."

"You didn't think that since they were in the same field they might see each other in the future? That it might cause Lenore to suffer some embarrassment?" I asked. Joanne turned red as said she really did not think it through. " I know better, Joanne." I said. "You enjoyed dishing some dirt. I'm guessing you saw it as a little revenge." Neither Joanne nor Robin would meet my eye. "Okay, what's done is done. Tell me what you discussed."

"We admitted we knew Lenore had played a slave with a group outside of town but with us, Lenore was always in charge and pretty tough. Sherrie laughed and started telling us stories saying she knew the "real Lenore" and called her a powder puff if you punched the right buttons. She told us how she took Lenore out into the French Quarter wearing only a short skirt and thin blouse. She described how she worked Lenore to be all submissive and give up her panties. We laughed our butts off imagining it."