Witness for the Prosecution Ch. 01

Paulina replied: "I'll make a short story long and give you the background as well as the answer. We were going to try all 12 Toyota Gang defendants at once, but they all made Motions to Sever. Judge Franklin Washington at first refused, but the Appellate Court overruled him. But they did allow him to order that those perps caught at the same time could be tried as one group, since they're charged with exactly the same things. So the H-Gang is being tried together, the B-Gang will be tried together, and the A-Gang likewise."

Sheriff Griswold barked: "And why is Fineman prosecuting them, and not you?"

Paulina: "In her infinite wisdom, D.A. Miriam Walters gave Savannah the (air quotes) 'slam dunk' Toyota prosecutions, and Miriam is having me handle the violent agitators you guys arrested last Tuesday. I'm giving Anthony Wilson the whole nine yards, maxing out his charges, and I'll be going for maximum sentences served consecutively. Ditto that for Bernice Jackson, who opened the fire exit door for the thugs. And then there's the other 40-plus to prosecute, so I'll be busy."

I said "With all the distractions going on, I haven't been keeping up with all of this. What's this sh--- er, crap about Savannah flipping someone?"

Paulina said "Neither Savannah nor Miriam has said anything to me about it, but I heard through the grapevine that Savannah got Maribel Isadora to flip on the others in exchange for full Immunity and Witness Protection. Not that it was needed; the perps were caught in the act and we could not have a more solid, airtight case on them. So maybe Savannah is going to get something else, something new out of Maribel."

Paulina then held up her hands and shrugged as she said "And if Savannah pulls that off? Power to her."

"And back to my original question." said Teresa. "The new standard for 'fair and speedy trials'?"

Paulina said "When I first heard about it, I thought maybe some kind of plea deal was in the works. And to be candidly honest about it, these cases are such open-and-shut, cut-and-dried slam dunks that I can't believe plea deals haven't been made days ago. And all the perps's lawyers agreed to move the trial up, so either they're acknowledging the inevitable, or they are giving their clients incredibly poor legal advice."

"Harumph." I grunted. Everyone looked at me, and when I realized it I just looked around and said "And no one in here was subpoenaed to testify?" No one was in a Duty Dress uniform.

Teresa said "I got a subpoena, and they'll call me if I'm going to be called to the stand. I'll throw on a jacket and go over there if I need to. But you'll have a pretty empty MCD room today. Just about all the MCD Detectives got subpoenaed."

Teresa then said "Riddle me this... was there something in Stellum calling State Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Johnson a (air quotes) 'far-Right-winger' like he did?"

"Yes." I said. "Ever since the US Supreme Court was made more Conservative with recent additions, the Totalitarian Leftists and their hand-in-glove allies of the biased, dishonest, and corrupt Mainstream Media are now ginning up attacks on Justices and Judges that are not in jackbooted lockstep with their radically Leftist views. Their goal is to weaken and destroy the credibility of the Judicial branch of Government when it stands in their way, and thus undermine it as a pillar of our Constitutional Republic."

Teresa said "And Stellum and his butt-buddy Carmela will definitely stop at nothing in their quest to fundamentally transform this Nation into a Socialist hellhole."

"Just wait until they outlaw gas stoves, and the use of natural gas to heat our homes in the Winter." I replied. "In the name of (air quotes) 'Climate Justice', of course."

"Changing the subject," said Cindy Ross, to change the subject, "Is there anything to Lemay's reporting on Louis Bailey's rejected grievances?"

The Sheriff replied "He believes KXTC's viewers have the right to know that there is discord in my Public Safety Department, and that the Captain's Union took the (air quotes) 'wrong' side on it. What Lemay didn't tell you is that after Crowbar did show up and did Crowbar things to the perps, the Unions want no part of our disputes anymore. They told me to fix the security issues at the Courthouse, make the chains-of-command clear to everyone, and they'd have no more to say about any of it."

Tanya said "What about Bailey himself, Sheriff? Last I heard, he was threatening to sue Don for shoving him, never mind that it was after he grabbed Don by the collar, putting Don in danger if Anthony Wilson had attacked at that moment."

I said "I have a sneaking suspicion... that all that is going to work out. But in a different direction than any of you are realizing." I risked a severe green crowbar beatdown by saying no more on the subject...

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

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise!" said attractive blonde Catrina Pierce at 8:00am from the KFXU studios. "I'm Catrina Pierce, and with me as always is Priya Ajmani. Good morning, Priya."

"Good morning, Catrina." said the drop-dead-gorgeous Indian reporterette Priya. "Good morning, everyone. Here's what's in the news. The trial of the first group of armed robbers that are allegedly part of a criminal organization known as the Toyota Gang begins today. The four alleged gang members were caught in the act of robbing a convenience store in early October, and both Prosecutor Savannah Fineman and the Defense team of high-powered attorneys agreed to being the trial on short-notice."

Catrina: "Fox Eight News has learned that one of the Defendants may turn State's evidences and testify against her--- her or his, that is, co-defendants. That, along with the moving up of the trial date, has led legal experts to speculate that a plea agreement is in the works."

Priya: "In State news, after years of intimidation and threats, the US DOJ Civil Rights Division has opened a new investigation of our Town & County Government, concentrating on the Public Safety Department, citing what they call systemic abuse of Police authority by white Police Officers against Minorities."

Catrina: "In response to a ultimatum by US Attorney General Derrick B. Harland, who has been accused by Republicans of viciously weaponizing the DOJ against Conservatives and Conservative groups, Governor Sharon Marshall stated that not only will the State not cooperate with the US DOJ's, quote, 'politically motivated and racist witch hunt', close quote, she will give our Town & County all the help she can to vigorously oppose the US DOJ's attempts to forcibly restructure the County Government and force the Town & County Police into a Consent Decree."

Priya: "State Attorney General Gil Krasney was also named in Derrick B. Harland's ultimatum, but has not said if he would work with the US DOJ to investigate the Town & County. Meanwhile, Governor Marshall has instructed the State Bureau of Investigation to begin an investigation of the opponent she defeated in the last election, Hoyt Stenson, and his son Hunter Stenson, into new allegations of bribery and influence peddling."

Catrina: "This comes after new allegations that Hunter took bribes from companies with ties to the Red Chinese, and distributed those bribes to family members's personal bank accounts. SBI Director Wes Masters and State Inspector General Britt Maxwell issued a joint statement saying that they were adding the new charges to their existing investigation. Governor Marshall also called out our competitors KXTC, KSB, and the SNN Networks by name for what she says are attempts by them to suppress the Hunter Stenson story, and prevent you from learning the information you have a right to know."

Priya: "And in national news affecting us locally, the National Transportation Safety Board, the NTSB, issued its initial report on the train car explosion in our County exactly one month ago today. An alarm of a broken rail caused the train to go into an emergency braking procedure, which contributed to a tanker car with a volatile chemical mixture to explode. The US Secretary of Transportation said that the safety systems and procedures did work as planned, resulting in no loss of life and minimal damage, and that the Public should be reassured instead of alarmed by the incident."

Catrina: "However, our State's US Senators, Bill Nunn and Lorraine McGill, blasted the Transportation Secretary, saying that he was downplaying the seriousness of the incident to protect himself and the President politically, and that he was doing nothing to prevent future terrorist attacks on our railroads. They also said, quote, 'the do-nothing Secretary of Transportation goes on vacations instead of working on the many transportation problems facing the Nation today', close quote..."

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

"I almost wish I didn't know what really happened with that train explosion." said Teresa as we started the Angels Meeting in my office. "I get it that the Government doesn't want people to panic, so they watered down that NTSB report, but like that Sports show says: 'C'mon, man!'."

I said "That's my sentiment about Hoyt and Hunter Stenson, and the Leftwing Media's ongoing attempts to suppress that story in order to save those corrupt bastards. C'mon, man!"

"Strong letter to follow." mused Cindy.

"Strong lawsuit to follow..." I said. "Oh, wait! I've already filed one of those against Bettina and KXTC. Anyhoo, moving steadily along... Tanya, did Jack go to Owen Lange's funeral? Or was there one?"

Tanya said "Owen Lange didn't want a big funeral. His family and a few Navy friends held a private service for him in California. They had a memorial service for him in Washington, D.C., and Jack was invited to that... and by 'invited' I mean he was ordered to attend. Jack is still there, in Washington... they're having a lot of high level meetings, since everyone is there. And between just the four of us, Jack is meeting with Senator Nunn and Congressman Gowron again."

*BUZZZ!*
*BUZZZ!*

I heard both my assistant Helena and Tanya's assistant Dora Nunn's desk phones buzz at t the same time. Then Helena knocked on my door and peeked inside. "Sir," she said, "the Courthouse called, and asked for Commander Croyle to come in. And the Chief just buzzed and asked for Commander Muscone to come to his office."

"On your way, ladies." I said. I tossed my Police SUV keys to Teresa. "Drive my car there, and park in the 'Authorized Vehicles Only' lot between the Courthouse and Eastside Elementary."

After they'd both left, I said to Cindy "If you're not doing anything, why don't you walk with me to the Courthouse. My curiosity about this trial has been piqued."

"Curiosity killed the Wild-cat." Cindy said humorously.

"And satisfaction brought him back." I replied with a grin...

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

"It's getting cold." said Cindy as we walked down College Street towards the Courthouse. "Just how this Canadian girl likes it."

"I prefer cold to hot, too." I said. As we walked by one of the bistros, I said "I always remember Barker when I walk by here." (Author's note: 'Little Red Haired Girl', Ch. 01-02.)

"Yeah, me too." Cindy said sadly. Then, to change the subject, she said "Has the Sheriff talked to you about the TCSD structure?"

"A little bit." I replied. "Didn't he talk to you?"

"Yes." Cindy said. "He talked to me, Bailey, and Chief Bailiff Clark Alexander, who holds the equivalent of a Captain's rank. Our Sheriff made clear two things: first, that if Commander Donald Troy appears on any scene, be it in City Hall, the Courthouse, or anywhere else in this County, then Commander Donald Troy is in charge." I made a little whimpering sound as I smiled wanly at that.

Cindy: "And second, in the here and now, if the Sheriff sends me into any situation, they should consider me to be the Sheriff's representative and speaking with his voice... unless the aforementioned Red Crowbar is there. But he, the Sheriff, has not put out a formalized structure, at least not as of my last conversation with him."

I said "He and Chief Moynahan are worried about that precedent with Teresa and Della Harlow." (Author's note: 'Falsely Accused', Ch. 05) "They're not worried about Tanya trying to take over like Harlow did, but Tanya won't be there forever, and if the Sheriff says you're the second-in-command of the TCSD, some future Deputy Chief might use it as a basis to cause trouble. They're still fleshing out ideas on what to do."

Cindy said "You were confident in the coffee klatch that the situation is going to resolve itself. But Bailey is still going to be around, and he's insisting he's field commander, so to speak. And word I've gotten is that the Unions would like to back him up on that, but they're scared of you. So what's the solution?"

"You just said it yourself." I said. "Well, the inverse."

"Oh." Cindy said as it hit her. "If he's not still around, the problem goes away. But the Sheriff has already told me that he can't get rid of Bailey, even if he wants to. The Captain's Union would go berserk."

"Yes. Yes they would." I said. "And no, I'm not thinking of Bailey coming over all dead, either. Soooo, what's left, however improbable, must be the truth. What would that truth be?"

Cindy fell silent as she thought hard about it, seeing that her attempts to read my mind were being successfully rebuffed...

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

The trial was in New Courtroom, the first of the modern courtrooms to have been built when the Courthouse was expanded with a new annex some years before. Cindy and I went into the Courthouse via the front door facing Courthouse Square, and walked through the 'back hallways', the restricted-access halls that connected the Courtrooms to Judges's Chambers, Jury Rooms, and back offices. Places that only authorized personnel could go. It is good to be 'authorized personnel', I thought to myself.

When we went into the Courtroom from the public access door in back, I saw Chief Bailiff Clark Alexander talking to the attractive Court Reporter up front. When he saw us come in, he excused himself and hurried down the aisle to greet us.

"Hello, Commander." he said affably as he shook my hand. "Hello, Chief Deputy." he said as he shook Cindy's hand. We realized that his use of that title was a show of support for Cindy against Louis Bailey. I was only partly surprised: Chief Bailiff Alexander was black, and not really fond of my strong enforcement of the law against violent black agitators; but he also was neither fan nor friend of Senior Deputy Bailey, who outranked him.

Cindy would call that 'alpha-male games'. Actually, she did call it that later on. In the meantime, I looked over the audience in the rows of pews. The Courtroom was about one-third full, and almost all of those were propagandists... er, reporters. They were sitting mostly on the left (Defense) side, as perspective jurors would sit on the right side when brought in.

I also saw six elderly persons, four men and two women, on the right side, near the back. They were the Courtroom Groupies, and had a following on 'The Facebook' and 'The Twitter'. They would talk about crimes, the solutions, and the trials. They contacted me frequently, and on irregular and rare occasions I would reply with pertinent information.

I saw Chip Blake at the Defense table (which was to the left from my perspective), but no one at the Prosecution table yet. "Where's the Prosecutor?" I asked Captain Alexander.

"Last I saw, sir, she was in the Witness Room with what seems to be half your Police Force." replied Alexander. "And if I may say so, sir, this is the damndest thing I've ever seen. Not only is it speedy as hell, the Clerk of Court only reserved 30 people from the Jury Pool to be empaneled for this case. To compare and contrast, they're gonna reserve at least 90 whenever Bernice Jackson's trial comes up."

"Yes, it is strange, isn't it?" I said musingly. Just then the back door opened and Savannah Fineman came hurtling through. She was wearing a bright lemon-yellow dress and bright white high heel pumps. Clark Alexander was between me and the door, so she didn't realize I was present until she got to her table and looked back into the audience. Was that a fleeting look of shock on her part when she did recognize me? I thought to myself...

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

"Oyez, oyez, oyez. Court is now in session, the Honorable Franklin Washington presiding. All rise." declared Chief Bailiff Alexander. Everyone stood up as Judge Washington came into the Courtroom from the back door that led to the hallway to his Chambers.

"Be seated." Judge Washington said. "Bring up the first case." The court reporter announced the case as 'Town & County v. Segui, Carlena, and Rojas'... leaving out Maribel Isadora's name!

Cindy and I were sitting on the back row, and I whispered to her "Maribel Isadora must be the witness Fineman turned." The three defendants were brought into the Courtroom from the side entrance, all wearing suits. Peter Segui and Michael Carlena were wearing expensive, expertly tailored, well-fitting suits. Carlos Rojas was wearing a Court-issued suit that came from the same place as suits given to released prisoners; it was all over him like... you guessed it... a cheap suit.

There were actually two Defense tables pressed together to accommodate the three Defendants and their three lawyers. Edward N. Parker, Chip Blake, and Michael Bertram. Max Chambliss was in the first row... on the Prosecutor's side.

Judge Washington had the Defendants enter their pleas of 'not guilty' and sign their paperwork. After the preliminaries and a few pre-trial motions by both sides, Judge Washington ordered that the jurors-in-perspective be brought in. Thirty people filed in, led by Deputy Sheriff Anya Krush, and took their seats in the second, third, and fourth rows on the Prosecution side.

Not only was it the fastest crime-to-trial time in my memory, it was the fastest empaneling of a Jury that my eyes had ever witnessed. Usually it takes all morning to question the jurors, they are sent to lunch, then the Jury is seated in the afternoon. But not to-day...

The most time was taken in having the jurors fill out the written form with pre-printed questions. That took 30 minutes, then the Prosecution and Defense took 30 minutes to review the forms. Then they were brought into the Jury Box 12 persons at a time and questioned by the Prosecutor and the Defense lawyers. Chip Blake did most of the questioning for the Defense Team, and he did not waste anyone's time. Neither did Savannah Fineman.

Judge Washington was taken aback that everything was completed before 11:00am. He was going to give the jury pool two hours for lunch, but both Fineman and Blake said they only needed a half hour. The stunned Judge told the Jury to go to an early lunch for one hour and be back and seated by 12:00 noon. Cindy and I also went to lunch during that time.

As we ate our subs we acquired at one of the bistros on the southside of Courthouse Square, Cindy said "I was getting a huge vibe from Franklin Washington. He was in total shock at the speed of the Jury empaneling. And so am I, for that matter. What about you?"

"It is... interesting." I said, almost musingly. "My first thought is that they were going to go right up to bringing in the jury pool, then the Defense would negotiate for plea deals. However, we crossed that Rubicon, and the Jury will likely be seated within half an hour of the resumption of the proceedings."

Me: "Soooo, that leads to me thinking that Fineman is going to spring her surprise star witness upon everyone this afternoon. And since I did not see Maribel Isadora in the Courtroom, and since her attorney, the sleazebag Max Chambliss was sitting behind the Prosecution table, I'll go out on a limb and venture a wild-ass guess that Maribel is the Witness for the Prosecution, to riff the title of one of Dame Agatha Christie's greatest novels."