Marcia Clark - Killer Ambition

On Tuesday morningI forced myself to eat a real breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit. I was going to need my energy. I found Mario himself standing guard in my hallway. “Nice,” he said, gesturing to my beige cotton suit and silk tank ensemble. Mario was the quintessential metrosexual. He always looked fantastic-hip, but understated.

“Not too casual?” I asked.

“You might consider accessorizing. A gold necklace would brighten things up a little.”

“Good point.”

I went back, found a simple chain, got the thumbs-up from Mario, and headed for my car. As I drove to the courthouse, I planned what I’d say to the judge about the defense team’s sleazy play in springing unknown witnesses on us at the eleventh hour. Bailey was in my office by the time I got there and she filled me in on what little she had.

“Terry’s witnesses are all from Nevada, and none of them have rap sheets. They all seem to be hotel casino service-type workers-waitresses, maids, that type of thing.”

“What on earth?”

“Great question.”

By the time Declan and I walked into the courtroom, my temper was at full boil. The jury wasn’t in yet, but the gallery was packed with reporters. And it appeared as though the Ian side of the courtroom was even more crowded than usual. It figured. Especially now that it looked like he’d win, everyone wanted to show their undying loyalty. There even seemed to be more law clerks at the defense counsel table. They were multiplying like rabbits over there. I told Tricia, the clerk, that we had something to handle before the jury came out, and when Judge Osterman took the bench, I fired with both barrels.

“The defense has insisted from day one that they had no witnesses to turn over. Now, at the last minute, they turn over a list of over forty witnesses, half of whom are experts they had to have contacted months ago. This is an outrageous flouting of the rules of discovery and an obvious effort to blindside the prosecution.”

The judge scanned the witness list as I spoke, then he looked at the defense side of counsel table. “Defense? This does look like a rather extensive list. It’s hard to believe you just contacted all these people-and, as Ms. Knight points out, especially all these experts-the night before the People rested.”

Terry stood up.

“As the court is well aware, we don’t have to turn over any names unless we intend to call them, and we weren’t sure we’d be calling anyone. We only made that decision the night before last.”

“I see,” the judge said. “Well, then I’ll have to accept your representation as an officer of the court-”

What? I lost it. My body rigid with anger, I fought to keep my voice from rising. “There most certainly is something you can do, Your Honor. Discovery laws were enacted to address exactly this kind of shell game. You have the power to prohibit the defense from calling those witnesses altogether. Or you can tell the jury that the defense improperly withheld their names. There is no reason to believe this… ridiculous story that they didn’t know whether they were going to call these witnesses. In fact, I just learned from my investigating officer that ten of them are from out of state. The defense had to have made arrangements to bring them out here long before this. There is no way, none, that all these witnesses were just a last-minute idea!”

I heard myself in those last few seconds and saw by Declan’s expression that I’d gotten much hotter than I’d intended. When I stopped speaking, it was so quiet I could hear the squeak of the bailiff’s Sam Browne belt across the courtroom.

The judge glared at me. “First of all, Ms. Knight, you can tone down the rhetoric. I’m not prepared to find that the defense deliberately withheld anything. They may very well have thought they might not present any affirmative defense and only changed their minds at the last minute-”

“But Your Honor, every single one of these witnesses required advance notice and extensive-”

“Do not interrupt me, Counsel! There’ll be no sanctions. Now, unless there’s anything else we have to take up-”

“There is,” I said, cutting off the judge and too angry to care. “I’ll need a recess to prepare for cross for each and every witness.”

The judge narrowed his eyes at me. “We’ll see, Ms. Knight. I’m not inclined to waste this jury’s time-”

“I wouldn’t be asking for any if the defense hadn’t deliberately hidden their discovery-”

“I warned you once not to interrupt me, Ms. Knight.” The judge gave me a furious look. “Do it a third time and I just may hold you in contempt. I can’t make myself any clearer than that. This is not a game of tit for tat. Just because the defense didn’t turn over discovery soon enough for your taste doesn’t mean you have the right to exact your idea of payback.”

Payback? Was he insane? “This isn’t about payback, Your Honor. It’s about the People’s right to a fair trial. If we can’t subject defense witnesses to the same scrutiny our witnesses get, the jury won’t have an accurate picture of the evidence. And that means we can’t get a fair verdict.”

“That was a very pretty speech, and completely unnecessary. The People will get their fair trial. You can ask for more time whenever you like, Counsel. But whether you get it or not will be up to me.” He turned to the bailiff. “Let’s have the jury.”

I sat down and tried to get my temper under control. It wouldn’t do to let the jury see me like this. The press was already a lost cause. They’d have a field day with “Courtroom Fireworks as Judge Threatens Prosecutor with Contempt!” I wondered for the hundredth time whether the jury was obeying the admonition not to read or watch any news about the trial. If they were, they’d be the first.

But it wasn’t just about needing time to prepare for cross-though that was reason enough. I also had to give Parkova the chance to dig into Ian’s laptop. This fight with Judge Osterman had shown me it was going to be an uphill battle all the way. One I might very well lose.

Terry gave anopening statement that was as effective as it was brief.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m a ‘show me’ kind of person. So I’d rather show you than talk at you. After all, as the judge told you, what I say”-Terry pointedly turned her body to include me-“what any of the lawyers say, isn’t evidence.” She pointed to the witness stand. “Only what comes from that chair up there is. And now you know there’s a good reason for that rule.” She half turned toward me again and pointed. “This prosecutor told you she would present DNA evidence that would conclusively prove my client’s blood was on the trunk of Brian Maher’s car. But as you’ve now seen-”

I couldn’t restrain myself. I jumped up. “Objection! Counsel is arguing, not giving an opening-”

“Sustained,” Judge Osterman said in an icy tone that made it clear he didn’t like having to rule in my favor. “Ms. Fisk, please save the argument for later and get on with what you intend to prove.”

Terry nodded. “I apologize, Your Honor. I got carried away.” But her smug tone implied she’d gotten all the mileage she wanted. I gritted my teeth to keep from saying what I thought of her. She turned back to the jury. “I really only need to tell you this: Ian Powers did not kill Hayley and Brian. I don’t have to make empty promises right now. I’m going to show you that Ian Powers is innocent. And then I’m going to show you who the real murderer is.”

Short, sweet, and dramatic, and it had the desired effect. The jurors were energized, their expressions engaged and intrigued. Mine would’ve been too, except I was busy showing the jury I didn’t give a damn-and worrying about the bomb Terry was about to drop. She started, predictably, with the parade of experts.