Prisoner at the Bar 02

This is a shorty, only 3.6 kilowords, or should that be killerwords? Although it has a similar title to another of mine, it's completely different. No sex, sorry. Even though it is set in a courtroom, it does contain some justice. Yes, I know, far-fetched.

To give credit where credit is due, the inspiration for this one came to me as I was reading CaseyEdward's fine tale from the dim dark past of 2007, 'Was it Worth It'.

Once again, your thanks should go to the beautiful CreativityTakesCourage for improving this story with her editing skills.

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THE SCENE: A COURTROOM IS SET UP to make the inhabitant of the dock feel isolated and intimidated. Its positioning made somewhat of a lie of the legal concept of innocent until proven guilty. It is set as far from anyone else in the room as the space permits. In particular, it's a long way from where its occupant's defence counsel, sometimes their only friendly face, inhabits. It is positioned at the foot of the raised platform where the stern looking judge sits, looking down at them.

No wonder David Brown was looking isolated and alone; he was the man in the dock in the vastness of the courtroom.

Behind a wooden guardrail and also raised slightly higher than him are the fifty or so seats of the public gallery. Due to the high profile and local celebrity nature of the case, most of the seats were occupied, including about ten journalists.

Before the judge was ushered into the court, Dave glanced at the loathsome trio sitting near the barrier to his left. First, there was Dave's mother-in-law, Judy. Alternately smiling for the cameras and looking triumphantly at him with a smirk. She'd never made a secret of the fact she didn't like him and thought her daughter had married beneath herself.

Cunt number two looked as handsome and flash as ever. Mr. George Alderton. Old money; nice suit; well ahead in the polls to win his first seat in the state parliament, a necessary step to go federal in three years' time. He had his arm draped comfortingly over his 'friend's' shoulder. There was no doubt in Dave's mind she would be more than a 'friend' as soon as she'd divorced Dave. Unable to have kids himself, Dave knew that George's chances at the bigtime would be hugely enhanced with an instant family and beautiful wife at his side. Until a couple of years prior, George had been a wild child; unelectable and single by choice. Then he'd got ambition. Due to his age, he'd realised he needed to adopt a family rather than going the traditional route of courting, marriage, and children.

George joined his future mother-in-law, alternating smiling for the cameras and smirking at the lonely man in the dock.

Bitch number two and cunt number three at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed by the whole situation. Susan knew what she'd done to her husband was wrong on every level and that he in no way deserved it. Thoughts of a life of leisure ahead of her, ditching forever the continual financial struggle her fifteen-year marriage to Dave had been, however, kept her committed. That, and George's promise that she would walk down the aisle to him with a brand new, top of the range, set of C cups, rather than the A's she'd always been a little self-conscious about. George had assured her that this was the only safe way to proceed and she trusted his judgement. That didn't stop her conscience trying to avoid her coming today, though, but George insisted she attend to show concern for her soon to be ex. His lawyer was ready to go in with a clemency submission before sentencing, on behalf of Susan, explaining Dave had been an exemplary husband and citizen until THAT afternoon. All that was needed was a criminal conviction. Dave didn't need be in prison for five years.

Dave found it hard to look at his wife. He'd thought she'd loved him as much as he had her. The ambush that night had pushed him into temporary insanity and led him to do something really stupid.

He tried to view her as someone easily led who'd made a bad decision. After all, he knew better than most that although she was above average in intelligence, she was fundamentally gullible. She did look beautiful today, though, and he guessed George had paid for a professional makeover for her. All part of the plan to make her look like the innocent victim in this whole charade.

Dave wondered if she was worried about today. He knew that her public image in the community was extremely important to her. She must have been worried throughout the whole trial that Dave would somehow get a little of the truth out to the voracious media. George and his pack of sharks had made sure that didn't happen. The media portrayed her as an exceptional mother and the victim in this case. Dave knew she would be devastated if the truth came out.

Dave broke off studying, what he'd come to think of as his assailants, and cast his gaze around the rest of the court.

The public prosecutor was at his bench, head down, probably already working on his next case.

At another bench was Dave's cut-price, graduate lawyer. The best he could afford after George's legal team had frozen the family assets. When he saw Dave looking at him, he gave him a discreet thumbs up.

Unusually, there was a third bench set up for another pair of lawyers. This was George's high-powered team. Dave admired the job they'd done. They'd forced the court to follow the precise script George had laid out. They were in the room as an 'interested party', but, truth be told, they'd done far more damage to Dave than the prosecutor had.

At that moment, the usher came in, sonorously called out 'all rise', waited for everyone to comply before opening the door to the judge's inner sanctum. The berobed one strode in for the finality of the two-day case and sat on his pedestal, looking forward to a leisurely afternoon of golf.

"The prisoner at the bar will rise."

Dave wearily complied, feeling smaller and lonelier than ever.

"Mr. Brown. You have pleaded guilty to assault and it is my duty to pass sentence upon you. I thank you for changing your plea and saving this court valuable time, and, rest assured, I will take that into account with your sentence."

Dave's mind wandered to his decision to change his plea. It happened the previous day after two significant events. The first was on the initial day of his trial, after the prosecutor, with the help of George's team, had laid out their fictional case. The fiction being that Dave had come home from a long day to find George, a 'friend' of Susan's and her mother at his house. He'd misinterpreted George's relationship with Susan and viciously attacked him, almost breaking his nose. All through the evidence it was stressed that George was merely a well-meaning friend, dropping by for a coffee.

Susan, her mother, and George were all trotted in as witnesses and backed up the story. Dave's lawyer didn't spend too much time in cross examination as his inexperience led him to believe he held an unassailable ace up his sleeve. Judy's testimony was particularly damning as she described the rage that her son-in-law exhibited toward a man that was only there as a friend to her daughter.

Dave was shocked when, as soon as his lawyer tried to enter the voice recording he'd made of the incident into the court record, George's lawyers jumped up and argued it was inadmissible. Dave had had the forethought to switch on the video recorder on his phone when he saw the car of the shithead who had been sniffing around his wife for months in his driveway. Dave's lawyer argued that, as it was Dave's house, the recording was admissible. The more experienced team argued that unless it contained permission from all present to be recorded, it was not allowed. They won and Dave's heart dropped to his socks.

The second reason Dave changed his mind occurred that same night. He was visited in his lonely, sparsely furnished apartment by George, both his lawyers, Susan, and some hired muscle. They'd pretty much guessed that Dave's tactics the next day were to get all the contents of the recording to the jury via his lawyer's examination of him. That would probably smear George's reputation enough to put his political aspirations back several years. They were there to convince him otherwise. Learning from previous mistakes, they'd taken possession of Dave's cell phone before anyone spoke. Outnumbered five to one, Dave could hardly object.

Knowing how much he loved his children, they made him an offer he couldn't refuse: Do what he planned to do the next day; a choice that would lead to Susan, via George's lawyer, making sure he never saw his kids again and ending up with nothing from his marriage. Or, he could remain silent, plead guilty, and get to see his children two days a fortnight. Plus, not needing the money, Susan would forgo child support and let Dave have the house. The final incentive was that George's team would argue for a light sentence when it was all over.

In reality, George was hoping for Dave to be out of the picture for at least two years so he could marry Susan and turn both children against their father, effectively ousting him completely from their lives.

George's lawyers reinforced their point with another obvious fact. Why Dave had assaulted their client wasn't really relevant. What mattered was that he had. Yes, he could get some measure of revenge by smearing George the next day, but if the cost was never seeing his children again, was it really worth it?

With such overwhelming threats, Dave caved and rang his lawyer while George and Co. were still there, to give him the news. His unwelcome house guests then left. George beaming; his lawyers smiling with the knowledge of a job well done; and Susan looking really uncomfortable. She, more than anyone, knew what Dave's children meant to him. She mumbled an apology as she went out. Dave mused for a few moments before ringing his lawyer again.

He was on his third bourbon when his lawyer rang him back two hours later with the results of his research.

The next day was a mere formality when Dave's lawyer announced the plea change and the judge asked Dave to confirm it. He then dismissed the jury and adjourned the court for an hour.

"I have a request from the prosecution that, as this is your first offence, a custodial sentence of no more than three years is warranted. Do you have anything to say in your defence before sentence is passed?"

Dave momentarily looked down at his feet. He knew what he was about to do could well be seen as contempt of court, leading to a higher sentence, but there was no limit to the risks he would take to avoid his children being influenced by the evil bunch in the gallery. His children were his life and if he had to lay down his freedom for the slightest chance of saving them, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Besides, George's promise to speak up for a lighter sentence hadn't eventuated, making Dave suspect the rest of the deal was bogus as well. What did he have to lose?

He looked squarely up at the judge.

"Your Honour. Yes, I am guilty of assault on George Alderton, but I ask the court, can you really blame me? If you'd come home from a hard day at work to be confronted by your wife telling you she was taking the kids and running off with her lover, then having her lover rub your face in the fact that he'd been having sex with your wife for months, a deliberate ploy to provoke you, would you be in total control of your emotions? If it helps, I have a voice recording I can play you."

At that point, George's legal team made such a noise that Dave's speech was interrupted. They argued long and loud that the judge had already ruled that the tape was inadmissible. In the silence after they'd finished, the judge was obviously thinking hard about his response. The smug look had finally left George's and Judy's faces and Susan looked terrified. Dave revealing the truth would ruin her reputation. The journalists looked expectantly at the judge; pencils poised.

It was the confident looks on George's lawyers faces that finally swayed his Honour in the end.

"My ruling of earlier only applied to the giving of evidence to the jury. My guidelines clearly state that I can use my discretion, however I see fit, during sentencing. A man's freedom is at stake here and I owe it to both him and the law to get it right. Mr. Brown, you may play your tape."

"Actually, Your Honour, I have two tapes you may find relevant."

Dave's lawyer stood and took a device out from under his desk. It was a box with speakers in it. The type you plug an iPod into. He set it up on the desk and pressed the play button.

George's lawyers once again leapt to their feet and tried to stop proceedings. They were firmly told to sit down and shut up.

As the recording began, Dave swivelled in his chair and stared straight at Susan. In his peripheral vision, he could see the journalists scribbling furiously and spectators standing with open mouths as his wife's and her lover's reputations were utterly demolished.

The tape replayed the worst night of Dave's life. His coming home; his wife's announcement that she was divorcing him to go with George. Trying to justify her actions as being in her best interests, and, almost as an afterthought, for the financial wellbeing of their children. His mother-in-law's triumphant announcement that her daughter was finally going to end up with someone she deserved. Then, finally, George's voice laying on thick how good Susan was in bed. His voice getting louder and louder as he obviously got in Dave's face. It ended with Dave's, "You bastard," and the sound of a fist hitting a face.

Throughout the entire tape the judge looked horrified at the cruelty revealed. Susan's head was bowed and she had tears dripping off her cheeks in a stream, staining the front of her sky-blue blouse. For some reason, Dave was reminded of rain splatters on pavement after a long dry spell.

Judy looked sick as soon as her part came on. In her mind's eye, she saw her status in the church and on several local charity committees running out the door. George looked stricken as all his ambitions drifted away like the smoke coming off the journalist's notebooks.

The judge began to speak after the end of the first sound file but Dave's lawyer politely interrupted and introduced the second file, explaining that Dave had seen the horde approaching his apartment door, the night before his change of plea, and had activated a video camera. The full video was available for the judge's viewing pleasure but only the sound portion was on the iPod. Without further ado, he activated the device again.

Again, silence, apart from furious scribbling, Susan's sobs, and the audio file, pervaded the room. Everyone listened as the second ambush played in glorious stereo sound. The judge glared at George's lawyers as he heard them lay out why Dave should change his plea.

Finally, when the second file was finished, the judge looked over at the prosecutor who took the hint and stood.

"Your Honour. Despite the admissibility issues of the tapes we've just heard, there is clear evidence of coercion of Mr. Brown to change his plea. I don't think you have any choice but to declare a mistrial."

The judge nodded and the prosecutor went on.

"As chairman of the state Law Society Ethics Committee, I think I'll be seeing these gentlemen," he nodded toward George's lawyers, "again, very soon. I will also have to seek advice from the Attorney General about possible perjury charges against Mrs. Susan Brown, Mrs. Judith Summers, and Mr. George Alderton."

After the general bedlam of the journalists storming out to be the first to begin the final destruction of three formerly upstanding citizens, the judge firmly brought the court to order and declared a mistrial.

EPILOGUE

When the story broke, all the people that had sided with Susan against Dave, turned on her with a vengeance. They really didn't appreciate being played for fools. One good thing was that Dave found out who his true friends were.

The Attorney General wasn't willing to commit political suicide by retrying underdog Dave and quietly let him know the charges were dropped.

George's lawyers were disbarred in a quiet, private meeting of the Ethics Committee, their firms dream of having influence over an upcoming political contender, crushed forever.

Various levels of courts decided that the tapes were inadmissible in a perjury trial, so the police relied on a favourite tactic of theirs and offered deals to the first of the three that shopped the other two. Judy won the race, and for her prize was pretty much let off scott-free. Her husband rewarded her with a divorce for abandoning their daughter, and for being a bitch.

George was disinherited by his father and sacked from the family company. With no real qualifications, he struggled, but finally got a job selling cars two states away. On his final night in town he was walking home after drowning his sorrows in a seedy bar, when he was assaulted. He ended up with a broken nose and no wallet or watch. No one was ever charged over the incident.

With the reputation as the 'giant killer', Dave's criminal lawyer had a full dance card for years to come.

Dave's new divorce lawyers did well for him. They were supplied, pro bono, by George's political opponents who realised that if they kept the story alive, then George's political party wouldn't gain power for a generation of so. They successfully argued that Susan shouldn't be able to use the lump sum George gave her to 'just fuck off,' to take the children out of the state. They then argued that with no employment, an impending trial for perjury, and absolutely no friends or support network, she wasn't a fit guardian for the children until the divorce hearing. The kids were relieved to get out of a horrible environment.

It was Susan's turn to have a cheap lawyer at the divorce hearing. With a brief of doing everything in the interests of the children involved, the Family Court judge allowed the admission of the two tapes. With evidence of her character through her adultery and no evidence she was acting in the best interests of them, the children were awarded to Dave. Susan was given generous visitation but as a local pariah, found the atmosphere unbearable and left town.

Dave, local celebrity and underdog hero, wasn't short of female attention but only dated when it didn't affect time with his children. He was finally proposed to three years later by Wendy, a divorcee with similar aged children. She came from old money and they lived a comfortable life together surrounded by grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren. After a decade, their private jokes about the effects of greed on some people dwindled as painful memories were washed away by new, shared ones.

Manyy years after the ambush, Dave and Wendy were sitting on their veranda, watching the sunset, exhausted from running around after great grandkids. Wendy noticed Dave rubbing his knuckles.

"What's up with your hand, Dave?"

"A touch of arthritis, I think. It's never been the same since I broke it punching George that time."

"I thought you told me that in your rage you fumbled the punch and only grazed him."

"Oh yeah, that time that is perfectly true. I'm talking about the one a few months later. I didn't fumble that one. Splattered the little shit's nose right across his face. I mean, legal redress is all well and good, but there's nothing like a little mindless violence to really put grievances to bed."

Wendy reached out and gently rubbed Dave's sore hand.

"I love you, Bruiser, you know that, don't you?"

Dave just smiled blissfully.