Private Practice Ch. 02

Priya: "Additionally, the District Attorney's Office upgraded the upcoming trial to a death penalty case, citing special circumstances. And the case is complicated by the murder of Dr. Peter Frost, who was the marriage counselor of the Locklears. The records of those counseling sessions are protected by 'doctor-client' privilege, and to this point Superior Court Judge Patrick R. Folsom has not permitted those records to be released despite requests by the Defense counsel."

Catrina: "Stanley Locklear's attorney has filed formal complaints of ethical violations against the Town & County District Attorney's Office, accusing ADA Savannah Fineman of allegedly planning to bring Dr. Frost to the stand though she had not put him on the list of witnesses she intended to call..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

9:00am, Wednesday, August 25th. The women of 'Point Taken' filed into their studio to the applause of their carefully selected, all-female audience, and took their seats on the sofas arranged in a semi-circle.

"And we are liiiiive!" announced hostess Connie Chen. "Let's get right to it. The trial of vigilante Stanley Locklear begins Monday. He is accused of gunning down two unarmed men that were having consentual sex with his wife. Rosie, was ADA Fineman's decision to make this a death penalty case the correct one?"


"You bet it is!" exclaimed the overweight Rosie Berkmar. "ADA Fineman is very courageously standing up to the NRA, who supports vigilantism and doesn't care how many children are murdered by guns every year! And this Locklear guy is exactly the kind of vigilante the NRA has been breeding and supporting all these years!"

Connie: "Donna, is this defendant being singled out for an unusually harsh prosecution?"

The militantly black Donna Roselle said "Connie, if this were a black man, you wouldn't see the NRA within a thousand miles of this case! The white man shoots two unarmed men dead, and the Republicans are saying it's self defense, and spouting the 'Castle Doctrine' and 'Stand Your Ground'. But if it were a black man defending his home? Standing his ground? You'd be hearing those Republicans yelling 'Lock him up!'."

Some members of the audience applauded loudly. As usual, Connie Chen marveled at how Roselle could play the race card on literally any subject. Connie said "Zara, do you agree the death penalty is warranted, here?"

The gorgeous Zara Zeigler said "If the Jury finds him guilty, and finds the case meets the standard for the death penalty, then so be it. The men he shot were his business partners, it is believed they were going to fire him, and his wife said the whole incident was an arranged roleplay event. If the Prosecution can show he knew ahead of time that he was going to be fired and that it was roleplay, then maybe the death penalty is warranted."

Zara: "But what I find disturbing is that ADA Fineman is not saying the double murder nor that the two men he shot were unarmed are the reasons for the special circumstances. She's saying the fact he used a gun at all, and that he didn't retreat and leave his wife at the mercy of those men, who he thought were violating his wife, are the special circumstances. And asking for the death penalty for those reasons is very chilling to the concept of self-defense."

"But he did have the 'duty to retreat'." fired back Rosie Berkmar. "He was obligated to retreat and not use a filthy gun to murder those unarmed men! And this case is exactly what we need to overthrow the NRA's totally wrong concepts of the 'Castle Doctrine' and 'stand your ground'!"

Connie Chen said "Meredith, do you have anything useful to add to this?"

Meredith Peller and Dana McMahon had been essentially 'traded' in a one-for-one swap of reporterettes, and both women had been allowed out of their restrictions against working for competing networks for months. And while Meredith was less conservative than the 'establishment' Dana McMahon, Connie Chen despised her.

Meredith said "Both Rosie and Zara make good points. This case will be a test of the Castle Doctrine as well as the limits of the use of guns in self-defense against unarmed persons, and the challenges to the Castle Doctrine are badly needed. But Zara is correct to point out that the District Attorney's Office asking for the death penalty because a gun was used is going to collide with the Second Amendment---"

"Let's go to break." Connie Chen said, cutting Meredith off...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Hello and welcome!" said Lisa Fillmore at 4:00pm, Wednesday, August 25th. "I'm Lisa Fillmore, and with me are Greg Wallace, Reed Hudson, and Dana McMahon. This is The Four!"

After the extremely cheesy music and intro graphics, Lisa said "The trial of Stanley Locklear is set to begin Monday, and already there are accusations of malfeasance by the District Attorney's Office, and counter-claims against the Defense. Additionally, Dr. Peter Frost, who was the marriage counselor for defendant Stanley Locklear and his wife Marla, was murdered over the weekend, only adding to the intrigue of the case."

After giving details of the case, Lisa said: "Stanley Locklear was tied up, and believed that his home had been invaded by two men who he believed were raping his wife. They had what appeared to be firearms, that later were determined to be fakes. The Police had not finished their investigation, but District Attorney Miriam Walters's Office went to the Grand Jury for an indictment, anyway."

Lisa: "And D.A. Miriam Walters's Office has made the trial a death penalty case, citing special circumstances that a gun was used in the case, and that the defendant did not retreat when he got out of his bonds, but instead defended his home and wife under the 'Castle Doctrine' by shooting and killing the suspects. Greg, what about this?"

Greg Wallace said: "The way District Attorney Miriam Walters's Office has acted is reprehensible. Jumping the gun going to the Grand Jury was bad, but worse are the reasons the D.A.'s Office is asking for the death penalty: because he used a gun to defend his home, and because he exercised the 'Castle Doctrine' and defended his home against the invaders."

Wallace: "That is really terrifying for law abiding citizens who have the Second Amendment right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the right to defend their home. Now District Attorney Miriam Walters's Office is telling them that they will be subject to the Death Penalty... the Death Penalty!... if they exercise their rights and if they do defend their families and their homes!"

Dana McMahon said "Hold on. Isn't it Assistant D.A. Savannah Fineman that went to the Grand Jury? And attached the special circumstances and asked for the death penalty?"

Lisa Fillmore said strongly: "Who was elected District Attorney in this County? Miriam Walters, not Savannah Fineman! Miriam Walters could have stopped the premature indictment, and she could have and still can remove the capital murder designation. And if Miriam Walters did not approve of what her ADA is doing, then that shows that Miriam Walters has totally lost control of her Office!"

Greg Wallace: "And I'll add that D.A. Miriam Walters could, and should have her best ADA, Paulina Patterson, on this, not Savannah Fineman, who has twice been badly defeated in her races for the Solicitor position, and lost several key trials."

Lisa Fillmore: "Reed, this does look politically motivated, doesn't it? Is Miriam Walters's District Attorney's Office trying to use this to roll back the time-honored concept of the 'Castle Doctrine'?"

Reed Hudson was the host of the well-respected and widely syndicated Conservative Excellence Network and its three hour radio show that was almost as good as the great Rush Limbaugh and the EIB Network.

Reed said: "And worse than that, Lisa, this State has a 'stand your ground' law, like Florida does. Stanley Locklear had no obligation, no duty to retreat; he had every right to defend his home. And that is what ADA Savannah Fineman is working so hard to overturn through the judiciary instead of the legislative process. It's a violation of the Separation of Powers, of fundamental Constitutional rights and human rights, and coddles the criminals while punishing the law-abiding."

Lisa: "And could District Attorney Miriam Walters stop this travesty?"

Reed Hudson: "Absolutely. And she should. Look, I get it why Savannah Fineman is doing this. I have sources that tell me Fineman is prepping her own run for District Attorney as a Democrat. But don't ask me to explain why Miriam Walters is allowing this; I can't. It's worse than John McCain's treason in voting with Democrats to prevent Obamacare from being overturned..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

District Attorney Miriam Walters was totally stunned as she watched the DVR replay of the 'The Four' broadcast in her office. "My God." she said. "They're making it sound like it's me and not Savannah doing that."

"That's because it is you doing it." Paulina Patterson said fearlessly. She had been the one that had brought the DVR-cast in for Miriam's viewing displeasure.

Miriam's beady black eyed flickered upwards to Paulina's face. "Why shouldn't I fire you right now?"

"You can." Paulina said as she looked right back into Miriam's eyes, again showing no fear. "But if you think what you just saw on that show was bad, just imagine the fallout if you fire your black ADA when all I'm trying to do is help you see what is happening here, and save the District Attorney's Office from the utter disaster that is about to befall us."

"Ah, there it is." Miriam said. "The race card. I knew it was only a matter of time before you played it."

"I'm not playing it, certainly not publicly." Paulina replied. "But you damn well better believe Judge Franklin Washington will, as will his brother, now Police Lieutenant Theo Washington. And Sheriff Griswold just might, too. But again, I'm not, so don't worry about that if you want to fire me. You'd be doing me a favor... I'm going to resign anyway if Stanley Locklear is convicted, much less given the death penalty. I will not be wanting any part of being employed by you if that happens."

Miriam and Paulina stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Miriam 'blinked'.

"Get out of my office." she said. Paulina did so as hastily as her shapely legs could carry her...

Part 11 - Meetings and Reveries

4:30pm, Wednesday, August 25th. I was called into the Chief's Conference Room. As I exited my office, Commander Tanya P. Muscone drove out of hers, and I followed her to the Chief's suite. Waiting for us were Chief Moynahan, Sheriff Griswold, and Chaplain Romano. On the screen, hooked in by videoconference, was Superior Court Judge Patrick R. Folsom.

"I just gave Judge Folsom my latest report." said Father Romano as I sat down in my 'normal' place between the Chief and the Sheriff, and Tanya parked between the Chief and Father Romano.

Judge Folsom said "I'm taking under advisement Father Romano's request for some help. He suggested that someone be allowed to set up computer programs that can go through the digital files on the servers and match up with his lists. I understand Corporal Penny Scott was in the military and has a Top Secret clearance?"

"Yes, Your Honor." I replied "As does Auxiliary Detective Halston."

"Corporal Scott will do fine." said the Judge. "And you can have one person, and one person only, set up the computer connections you need. They're not to open nor look into the files in any way, though." We all voiced our agreement.

"I have this question." said the Judge. "Father Romano suggested that I allow at least him to review the Locklear files. Do you have anything at all to support that? Any evidence at all?"

Sheriff Griswold answered: "It's circumstantial, Your Honor. The Locklear trial is a capital murder case, and the Media is already ginning up political issues over it. Dr. Peter Frost may have been subpoenaed to take the stand during the trial, and by being brought into it, his name would become known, which would potentially open more cans of worms. There's potentially motive, there, to silence him."

"But no evidence." said the Judge, more as a statement than a question.

"Your Honor," I said, "it's a circular argument. The only way to really get that evidence is to see what's in the files. Without seeing that, we have little hope to find proof of anything, either way. As another analogy, as a politician once stated about a bill in Congress: 'We have to pass it to see what's in it.'. Without that, we can't develop leads, much less corroborate anything we do have."

"And if you look at the files, and there's nothing there to lead you to the murderer of Dr. Frost?" the Judge asked, a bit harshly.

"Then at least we know for sure, Your Honor." I said. "And eliminating false paths helps lead us to the truth."

"And that's not good enough." said the Judge. "The Locklear files are off limits, definitely until the Locklear trial is over, and maybe even after that. Contact me if any other name correlations come up for you." And with that, the Judge signed off and exited the videoconference.

"Is he being fair? Or is he helping Fineman's prosecution?" the Sheriff asked.

"If this were California, Sheriff," Tanya said, without her usual perkiness, "we'd have what we need from a Special Master. Nothing against you, Father, but Judge Folsom is still needlessly tying our hands."

Everyone agreed, then noticed that I was mentally nowhere in the room. When I started coming out of it, Sheriff Griswold growled "Where are you now, Crowbar?"

"In California." I whispered. "I wonder..."

Chief Moynahan said "Father, have you found any names we can investigate?"

"Three, Chief, that the Judge has authorized me to release." said Romano. "Deputy Roger Hunt; a Mr. Mario Marchiano; and Dr. Ted Maris, who is on Staff at University Hospital."

All eyes drifted to me, though I was still far away. I barely realized it as I said "Ted Maris is an ear, nose, and throat specialist." I then snapped out of my reverie and began paying attention again.

Father Romano said "All three had some connection to Dr. Frost and possible motive to do him harm, and their names also came up in the files. Deputy Hunt was involved in that ticket that Dr. Frost challenged in Court. Dr. Maris never was a client of Dr. Frost, but his wife was, and Court records show that Dr. Frost applied for a Restraining Order against Dr. Maris, but then withdrew it. That was about a year ago."

Father Romano: "But Dr. Frost did have a Restraining Order against him, filed by Mr. Marchiano, also about a year ago. Mr. Marchiano claimed that Dr. Frost was stalking his daughter Gina. Gina Marchiano Talbot and her husband had been in marriage counseling with Dr. Frost, but it had failed, and Mr. Talbot divorced his wife and moved to The City."

Father Romano: "Apparently Gina went out with Peter Frost, but broke it off after a couple of dates. Dr. Frost apparently didn't want to take 'no' for an answer, so her father got involved. He's a lawyer for a financial company, so he went the legal way. But I happen to know that he and his financial company are (air quotes) 'connected', and yes, by that I mean Mob ties. And if Dr. Frost continued to cross the line, Mr. Marchiano's next steps to protect his daughter might've involved enforcement means that are... not Court-based."

Tanya said "But why send a pro to kill you, Father Romano?"

"Elementary, my dear Angel." I said. "If indeed Mr. Marchiano had Frost killed, that would mean the attack on Father Romano is a separate and unrelated crime."

"Even soooooo, "drawled the Chief, "we can talk to him, maybe his daughter and her ex-husband. And we can talk to all three of these men and their former spouses and involved personnel."

I said "We'll do that in the morning, sir. I'll give the names to Mary Milton and let her team see what they can find out about these people overnight. I have to talk to her, anyway."

Then I said: "And in the immortal words of Steve Jobs: 'oh, one more thing'. Father, are there any video files of Dr. Frost's sessions with his clients?"

"Yes, there are some." said Father Romano. "But of the ones I've looked at, they're all very basic. Dr. Frost was professional in every way in them. If you're looking for sex tapes, you'll have to find them somewhere else."

We all broke out laughing, especially me. "Point taken, Chaplain." I said. Then I got serious, and said "But yes, illicit sex tapes are indeed what I am looking for... and I suspect they're on the two servers that are still missing..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I knocked on Mary Milton's door and opened it and went on in. Mary started to rise out of her chair, but I stopped her.

"Stay seated." I said, then handed her a sheet of paper. "We've got these names as a starting point for our investigations. Find out what you can overnight about them. And there's something else I want you, and only you, to look into. And report only to me what you find."

I handed her another sheet of paper with my instructions. Her eyebrows raised up under her bright pink hair when she read the words. "Yes sir, I'll start looking into this right away..."

Part 12 - The Way Forward

8:00am, Thursday, August 26th.. I did not see the Bettina propaganda-cast because Teresa and I were at 1st Precinct Headquarters at County Jail. The roll call for the Uniformed Officers was commencing, led by Senior Sergeant Roy McGhillie.

As he announced the names, they said 'Here'. And then he called out "Buchannan!"

"Here!"

Everyone turned around to see Patrolman Kevin Buchannan in the back of the room, his arm still in a sling, but in Uniform and ready for duty, albeit severely restricted duty.

The Officers began applauding. For two full minutes they gave their fellow Officer a standing ovation, recognizing that he had been wounded in the line of duty. Teresa and I joined the applause.

After Roll Call was done, I took a moment to address the 1st Precinct Officers. "Something purple, Officer Buchannan's way will come." I said. "Isn't that right, Commander Croyle?"

"Welcome to the club, Officer Buchannan." the six-time Purple Order recipient replied loudly. "I'm glad you are alive to be a part of it." That generated another round of applause.

I then commended the entire assemblage for performing their duties in a manner that made Commander Croyle and me look good in front of our Chief and Sheriff... who were also in the room, watching and listening...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

8:30am, Thursday, August 26th. Deputy Roger Hunt was normally assigned to Courthouse duties, but this morning he was asked to report to County Jail. He was brought over to the 1st Precinct Conference Room, where Sheriff Griswold, Lt. Commander Croyle, and I were waiting. He was a tall, well-built white man with a bald head; the quintessential, stereotypical Deputy Sheriff.

"Have a seat, Deputy." the Sheriff growled from his seat at the end of the table. I was to his left on the far side of the room, and Teresa near the other end of the table, in a defensible position. "Commander Troy has some questions for you." Hunt sat down.

I said "First, I'm going to read you your rights---"

"Sir?" Hunt gasped. "Er, why?"

"Tell you in a minute." I said. I read Hunt his rights, he said he understood them, and I asked "Do you want a Union Rep, or a lawyer?"

"I reserve my rights, but tell me what's going on and then I'll see." said Hunt.

"We're investigating the murder of Dr. Peter Frost." I said. "Do you remember giving Dr. Frost a citation for speeding?"