Private Practice Ch. 03

ADA Fineman led Marla through what had happened that night, the planning for the roleplay event, and ultimately through what had happened that night. Fineman asked Marla about unloading the gun, and Marla said she had, and that she'd thrown the bullets away at a Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers.

Fineman also asked if Marla and Stanley discussed fantasies, and Marla said they frequently did, and under the ADA's 'spoon-feeding' questions, detailed how she and Stanley had discussed wife-watching and roleplay fantasies. Fineman also had the cookies and URLs from Stanley's computer entered into evidence, showing that he'd visited erotic literature sites.

Fineman touched upon the fact that the Locklears had gone to marriage counseling with Dr. Peter Frost, but then emphasized that those files were protected by doctor-client privilege and could not be released nor put into evidence. McGill objected, and in a sidebar complained to the Judge that Fineman's comments were not true, that Marla could release those files if she wanted to. Judge Folsom said that he would let Fineman's comments stand, and McGill would have to cover it as part of his defense.

And then it was Michael McGill's turn. He had Marla confirm her story about removing the bullets from Stanley's gun, and then he threw a bomb: he played the videos of Marla's two interviews. The first was the one where she stumbled all over herself when I asked her what she did with the bullets. The second one showed Marla confidently giving her answer about throwing away the bullets.

"So which is it, Mrs. Locklear?" McGill asked. "When you were first asked about the bullets, you obviously had no answer, but much later in a separate interview, you had a prepared answer---"

"Objection!" yelled Fineman. "Leading the witness, and also badgering the witness."

"Sustained on both objections." said Judge Folsom.

Michael McGill said "Then let me point out the facts that were shown in that first interview, as well as these Police reports already entered into evidence. You, Mrs. Locklear, said at first that you threw the bullets away in the kitchen, and you were confronted with that outright lie in the interview, which is confirmed by the Police reports. So once again I ask you, did you remove the bullets from your husband's self-defense gun in the bedside table drawer?"

"Objection!" Savannah Fineman shouted, rising to her feet. "She's been asked that and has answered! This is nothing but badgering the witness, Your Honor!"

"Overruled." said Judge Folsom. "You may answer the question, Mrs. Locklear."

Marla said "I was asked that earlier, and I stand by my answer then that I did remove the bullets from the gun."

Michael McGill said "I remind you that you are under oath---"

"Objection!" Fineman shouted as she stood up again, her face red with fury.

"Sustained." said the Judge.

McGill said "I'd like to enter this as the next exhibit." He held up the box with the engagement ring found in Peter Frost's apartment.

"So entered." said the Judge.

After explaining where the ring was found, McGill said "The inscription on the inside of this ring says, and I quote, 'my love Marla'. Did Peter Frost ask you to marry him?"

"I... I... I've never seen that ring." Marla said, looking shocked. "And no, Peter Frost never asked me to marry him. That must've been meant for someone else."

McGill said "Mrs. Locklear, did you have a sexual relationship with your marriage counselor, Dr. Peter Frost?"

"Objection!" Fineman yelled yet again. "Relevance! And it's protected by the doctor-client privilege!"

"Sustained." said the Judge. "You do not have to answer that question, Mrs. Locklear."

"Mrs. Locklear," continued McGill, "you just testified that you and your husband talked about fantasies. We've been told the videotapes of those sessions are protected by doctor-client privilege, and the Defendant has given his authorization to release them. You could authorize those tapes to be released, as well. Why haven't you, and why don't you, so that the Jury can see the truth---"

"Objection!" Fineman yelled. "Your Honor, may I approach?"

"Ten minute recess." said the Judge. "Bailiff, escort the Jury out." After the Jury exited the Courtroom, the Judge had the attorneys come to the Bench. "Why shouldn't I declare a mistrial right now? I've already made it clear that those tapes are off limits."

Michael McGill said fearlessly: "And that will be grounds for appeal, Your Honor. My client is not being afforded his right to defend himself. Those tapes will show Mrs. Locklear is committing perjury on the stand, and will exonerate my client---"

"We've hashed that out already." said Judge Folsom. "You are dangerously close to a Contempt charge, Mr. McGill. I will instruct the Jury on that issue, and you cannot bring it up again..."

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

McGill asked that Marla Locklear be subject to recall, which was granted. On redirect, Savannah ignored McGill's exposure of Marla's fumbling the bullets question, and concentrated instead on Stanley's obsession with guns. Marla said that Stanley was obsessed with his guns and with political gun rights issues, that he gave money to the NRA, and that he went to the range or to an outdoor range somewhere to practice using his guns against imaginary enemies.

ADA Fineman had hoped to have an airtight, powerful case, and she had wanted the Jury to be sequestered for the night thinking about Marla Locklear's damning testimony against her husband, so she'd timed it that the day would conclude with Marla as her final witness. Instead, it had been a near-disaster for her. But having no further choice, at 4:55pm she declared "Your Honor, the People rest."

Judge Folsom said "We'll wrap up for the day. Bailiffs, escort the Jury out, please." Everyone stood as the Jury was escorted out. Then the Judge said "We'll reconvene at 9:00am tomorrow morning." He banged his gavel. It was not needed to say 'All rise', as everyone was already standing as he exited the Courtroom.

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

Some of us 'reconvened' at the Cop Bar, that being me, Teresa, Cindy, and the Sheriff. We sat on the outside deck consuming beef nachos and beer (and Cherry Coca-Cola Zero). I called my mother and wished her a happy birthday, then the phone was passed around and everyone wished her happy birthday.

I was not supposed to be hearing about the trial, as I was going to be called as a Defense witness. But Michael McGill could talk to me to prep my testimony, so I was going to hear this, anyway.

"Michael McGill is doing a great job." Cindy said. "But he's having to fight both Savannah and the Judge. And the word among the Bailiffs I talked to before coming here is that they think Judge Folsom will find a way to call a mistrial if he thinks Stanley Locklear will be acquitted."

The Sheriff said "I was in there, in the back, when Marla Locklear was testifying. And I agree that Judge Folsom could not have been friendlier to Fineman in his rulings and conduct of the trial. If Crowbar could have seen it, he'd be saying Folsom is to Fineman what the Mainstream Media is to Democrats."

I said "I sincerely hope Judge Folsom is not that totally corrupt and dishonest. But I hear you on his biases for the Prosecution, and we've been seeing it all along."

Cindy said "And speaking of that, the Media kept telling us that Savannah was going to make this all about Stanley being a vigilante, of shooting the other men because he's a gun fanatic. But aside from putting that anti-gun-rights lobbyist on the stand... who McGill shredded... and having the Cosby's Gun & Range employees there, she didn't make that case at all."

"That's because she fucked up."

We all looked up to see Paulina Patterson coming up to us. She had said that, and as she sat down next to me, she continued: "Savannah expected that Marla was going to blow Stanley out of the water with her testimony, but Michael played those videos of you asking Marla about the bullets. That hurt."

Paulina: "And Savannah did try to have Marla talk about Stanley's gun obsession right at the end of her testimony, which Savannah timed to be right at the end of the day. And it might've been effective, but by then Marla was damaged goods."

"So you think Locklear will be acquitted?" Sheriff Griswold asked hopefully.

Paulina said "I'm more concerned that Savannah will punt and find a way to get Judge Folsom to declare a mistrial. And Michael is going to put Stanley Locklear on the stand, and he may put Denise on the stand. Either of them has a risk of badly backfiring."

As we were leaving, Teresa quietly said to me "Am I the only one noticing that Paulina was calling Michael McGill 'Michael', in a familiar kind of way?"

"No, you were not the only one that noticed that." I replied...

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

Meanwhile...

Savannah Fineman trudged into her office. It had not gone as well as she had hoped, and she now had a long night to prepare for Michael McGill's attempt to defend that gun-violence-obsessed vigilante Stanley Locklear...

She realized that someone was in the room, and looked up to see District Attorney Miriam Walters sitting behind her (Savannah's) desk.

"Well!" Miriam said as she stood up. "That was not your finest day in Court."

"It wasn't as bad as it could've been." Savannah replied... more of a retort. "We kept the goddamned Frost files hidden away."

"True." said Miriam. "But you know as well as I do that when the Prosecution rests, the Jury should be screaming and clawing to convict the Defendant. As it was, they were left in total doubt about the veracity of your star witness, Marla Locklear. And total doubt is worse than 'reasonable doubt'."

Fineman said "McGill is going to put Locklear on the stand. When I finish my cross of him, the Jury will be begging to convict him -and- put him on Death Row. And then McGill will do something stupid, bring up the protected files again, and Judge Folsom will declare a mistrial."

"Miriam said. "For your sake, you better hope Locklear screws up." Then she took a breath, exhaled, and said "Savannah, if the judge does declare a mistrial, or if the Jury deadlocks and there is no verdict, we will not retry him. I'll have the charges dropped."

"What?!" Savannah exclaimed, her face an expression of pure shock. "Miriam, you can't do that!"

"I can, and I will." Miriam said. "I am not going to waste the taxpayers's money on another trial. This is your one shot. And if you fail, not only will you not get another one at this case, you won't get another one at all; you'll be back on drug cases." She walked past Savannah and headed for the door.

"You can't... you can't let Donald Troy win like that!" Savannah cried out as Miriam grabbed the door handle.

Miriam turned around and said "This is not about Donald Troy. This is about my future and career." She opened the door and left the office...

Part 21 - The Trial of Stanley Locklear, Day 3

8:50am, Wednesday, September 1st. I reported to the Courthouse and was taken to the Defense Witness Room. I was wearing my semi-formal jacket with the 'fruit salad' of ribbons not only for the medals I'd been awarded, but also the ribbons that didn't have medals, and denoted completion of school courses, time-in-grade, and division status and leadership positions. And yes, the Medal of Valor with Oak Leaf Cluster was hanging around my neck.

My shoes were shined to the Airborne standard and then some, the creases in my pants and shirt under the jacket were sharp enough to shave with, and my Badge, belt buckle, and insignia were shined well enough they could be used as mirrors for that shaving experience. My hair was cut nearly perfectly, though no barber existed in the Town & County that was as good as the one in Providence Springs near Apple Grove.

Detective Roark Coleman came into the room. He was wearing a civilian gray suit with a white shirt. His blue necktie had little TCPD logos on it. He wasn't quite Theo Washington 'GQ', but the suit looked good on him and was pressed and neat. His shoes were shined, and his belt buckle lined up with his shirt line and pants zipper line (a.k.a. the 'gig line' in the military).

Michael Thomas McGill came in and shook hands with us. "Mr. Roark, I'll call you first, and then you, Commander Troy. As we've gone over, just truthfully answer my questions, no matter how strange they seem to be, and always follow the Judge's instructions."

"Are we your only two witnesses?" I asked.

"No." said McGill. "After you two go, I'm calling Denise to the stand. And then I'm putting Stanley on the stand, to testify in his own defense."

After McGill exited, Roark and I sat down. "Sir," he said. "Is that a good idea, putting the Defendant on the stand?"

I said "That's always a hard call for a defense attorney. In this case, it may be the only way to get his side told to the Jury."

A moment later, a Deputy Sheriff appeared at the door. I was mildly surprised that the Chief Deputy Sheriff herself was performing this duty. "Roark, they're calling you." Cindy said.

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

Michael McGill led Detective Roark Coleman through the crime scene investigation, but in a way much more friendly to Stanley Locklear. "So Mr. Locklear declined to answer questions. Did he invoke?"

"No sir." said Roark Coleman. "As is his Constitutional right, he asked that he have a lawyer before answering any questions, and we afforded him that. But he never invoked. He said he'd be glad to answer questions once he had a lawyer present. And he cooperated fully once you arrived and represented him."

McGill: "These two weapons that were used by Maple and Hogue to subdue the Locklears. Could an experienced Officer of the Law like yourself be able to tell they were fakes?"

"Objection, calls for speculation." said Fineman.

"Overruled." said Judge Folsom. "Answer the question, Detective."

"From a distance, or in low light, it would be very difficult to tell that they were fakes." said Roark. "Especially since the orange tip was missing from the semi-auto pistol."

Then McGill covered the arguments during the investigation. "Did the Police come to a conclusion as to the Defendant's guilt before the District Attorney's Office referred the case to the Grand Jury?"

"No sir." said Roark Coleman. "We had some pretty heated arguments over it."

"Objection. Move to strike." said Savannah Fineman. "Heresay."

"Your Honor," said McGill, "I'm asking the witness what he actually said and what he was directly told, as I asked Detective Warner on my cross of her."

"The objection is overruled." said Judge Folsom, trapped by his previous rulings...

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

ADA Fineman had no questions for Detective Coleman, so the Judge had Michael McGill call his next witness. McGill said "The Defense calls Police Commander Donald Troy to the stand."

Cindy had already come to the Witness Room and gotten me. As she walked me to the Courtroom's doors, she said "Kick ass in there." Upon hearing my name, the Bailiffs opened the doors, and I strode through.

They really should allow music like they do when baseball pitchers come into a game, and for me they should play the Star Wars 'Imperial March'. I strode in, standing tall and walking tall, my highwall Police hat tucked under my arm like Jack Nicholson in 'A Few Good Men'. I sensed as much as saw the positive reaction from many in the audience and the Jury... and pure hatred from Savannah Fineman and the disgusting subhumans that most people call 'journalists'.

To my surprise, I saw that D.A. Miriam Walters was sitting at the Prosecution table next to Fineman. Paulina Patterson was sitting on the front row... behind the Defense table, next to the Sheriff and Commander Croyle.

The Bailiff swore me in, then Michael McGill got up and said "Please state your full name and occupation."

"James Donald Troy." I replied. "Town & County Police Commander."

"And that is the second in command of the Town & County Police Force?"

"Yes." I said.

"Your Honor, I would like to read into the record Commander Troy's recognitions---" started McGill.

"Objection!" yelled Savannah Fineman. "The witness's name and occupation are enough."

"Your Honor," said McGill, "I wish to show that Commander Troy's experience and accomplishments more than qualify him as an expert witness."

Judge Folsom said "Commander Troy's record will be entered into evidence, but we don't need to waste time reading it out loud here. And yes, Commander Troy can be considered to be an expert witness."

That opened the door for my opinion to be asked as well as questions of fact. Michael McGill took advantage. He led me through my observations of the crime scene. "Commander, in your expert opinion, do the guns used by the home invaders look like fakes? Or real?"

"Unless they could be examined closely," I said, "they look close enough to real firearms that I wouldn't want to take a chance they weren't real."

"Commander," said McGill, "when you questioned the Defendant, was he cooperative?"

"Yes." I said. "He did ask to have a lawyer present, which we facilitated, and he was cooperative in answering our questions.

After some more questions about the crime scene, including the birth control pills and what was on Stanley's computer, McGill said "Commander, you are second-in-command of the Town & County Police Department, is that right?"

"Yes." I said.

"Is it you that decides when to refer a case to the District Attorney's Office?" McGill asked.

"Sometimes." I said. "My Captain of Detectives or even the Lieutenants under her could make the referral. And of course my boss, the Police Chief could."

McGill: "Who made the referral to the District Attorney's Office on this case?"

"To my knowledge, no one." I said. "We had not determined anything for sure; in fact, my Detectives were arguing between Stanley and Marla Locklear being the more believable witness---"

"Objection." Fineman called out. "Heresay."

"Your Honor," McGill said. "The Police Commander is stating actual conversations that occurred in front of him. And I'm confirming the testimony of previous witnesses."

"Objection overruled." Judge Folsom said.

After finishing that aspect, McGill said "I'm going to play two videos for you, Commander, of your interviews of Mrs. Locklear---"

"Objection!" ADA Fineman yelled. "The Jury has already seen the clips."

McGill countered: "Commander Troy was not in here when they were played." Judge Folsom allowed them to be played. They were the videos of Marla's answers about the bullets.

After they were played, McGill said "Commander, what was your expert opinion of the first tape?"

"Objection, call for speculation." Fineman tried.

"Overruled." said Judge Folsom. "You may answer the question, Commander."

"Thank you, Your Honor." I said. "As I said during that videoed interview, taking bullets out of a gun is not a normal thing, but Mrs. Locklear could not remember what she did with them. Only much later, after having time to think about it, did she come up with an answer... and one we could not verify."

McGill: "What is your expert opinion of Mrs. Locklear's claim that she unloaded Mr. Locklear's firearm?"

Savannah Fineman did not object, maybe because Miriam Walters grabbed her arm and stopped her. I said "I believe that she never unloaded the gun..."

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

"Your witness." Michael McGill said when he finished questioning me. And Savannah Fineman practically leapt out of her seat to begin her cross-examination.

"Commander Troy," Fineman said loudly, "would you explain to the Jury why you had to be pardoned by the Governor for allegedly raping a woman in your custody?"