Andrew Price - Without A Hitch

Sutherlin was nothing like Judge D’Amato. He was a great deal older, quite a bit testier, and he didn’t talk with people so much as talk at them. Where she had an easy manner and presented an aura of practicality, Sutherlin’s manner was exceedingly formal and precise. As he read through Corbin and Beckett’s motions, he scratched notes in the margins. All eyes were on his thick, white, perfectly-coiffed hair and his starched white shirt. His robe hung from a hanger in the corner.

“Mr., ah, Beckett. I have reviewed your motions. Is there anything you wish to add that isn’t already covered in your memoranda?” Sutherlin asked in a deep, dominating voice which filled the room and demanded attention. He looked at Beckett over the top of his glasses. Beckett sat on the other side of Sutherlin’s desk, next to the dapper Eddie Pierce, the District Attorney. Corbin and Hillary Morales sat behind them, against the wall.

“Yes, Your Honor, thank you.” Beckett flipped a few pages in his notes. “We’ve looked at the prosecution’s filings and we simply can’t find any evidence linking Mr. Beaumont to most of the charges. There are no witnesses placing him in the banks and there’s no evidence linking him to the documents in question-”

“Your Honor, the police found the documents at his residence,” Pierce said, interrupting Beckett. Pierce wore a black checkered suit with a red handkerchief sticking out of the suit’s breast pocket. Platinum cufflinks became visible whenever he moved his arms, which he did whenever he spoke.

“There’s no evidence placing Beaumont in the banks or showing that he ever opened the accounts,” Beckett countered.

“Mr. Beckett, how do we know the defendant didn’t have an associate open the account for him?” Sutherlin asked. “You want the case dismissed because there is allegedly no evidence Mr. Beaumont entered these banks, but how do you know he didn’t have an associate?”

“The state hasn’t made that allegation, Your Honor,” Beckett responded. “Nor have they produced any witnesses to that effect.”

“The case is still young, Mr. Beckett. Your motion to dismiss is denied. Though I will consider the motion again should the state fail to demonstrate a connection between Mr. Beaumont and these documents at trial.” Sutherlin made some additional notes. “Let’s talk about this videotape. What is the problem with the videotape, Mr. Beckett?”

“With regard to the First Regional tape, we are moving to exclude the testimony of the teller and the videotape. First, the videotape has no date or time stamp. Thus we have no way to know when it was made.”

“I presume the teller can testify as to when it was made,” Sutherlin responded.

“We also challenge the testimony of the manager from Penn Bancorp, because she was shown a picture of Mr. Beaumont before she was asked to identify him.”

“And you think that tainted the identification?” Sutherlin asked.

“Yes, Your Honor,” Beckett responded.

“But she does identify him as the man with whom she dealt,” Pierce said.

“Motion denied.”

Beckett frowned, causing Sutherlin to smirk. “Don’t worry, Mr. Beckett. You’re an experienced trial attorney. I’m sure you can make your case effectively to the jury.”

“We’re also moving to dismiss the gun charge, again for lack of evidence.”

“Denied.”

Beckett stared at the Judge for a moment. Sutherlin stared back coldly.

“What about our motion to exclude any mention of prior crimes or suspicions of crimes?”

“I’m going to defer my ruling on that one, Mr. Beckett, until it becomes clear what the prosecution intends to do to prove their case. . but I will grant your request for the entire file.” Sutherlin looked at Eddie Pierce. “You are ordered to provide a complete copy of the file to Mr. Beckett within five days.”

“We can turn it over this afternoon,” Pierce responded.

“Is there anything else, Mr. Beckett?”

Beckett closed the file on his lap. “We’ve been trying to get videotape from the other banks where Mr. Beaumont is alleged to have opened accounts, but we haven’t had any success because they claim they didn’t keep it-”

“What do you want from me, Mr. Beckett?” Sutherlin asked dryly. “I can’t create videotape from whole cloth?”

“We understand the police looked at some of those videos, and we would like those produced.”

“Your Honor, we no longer have any such videos,” Pierce responded. “If we were unable to find Mr. Beaumont clearly, then we returned the tapes to the banks.”

“Where, presumably, they were destroyed. I see.” Sutherlin rubbed his chin. “Mr. Beckett, I cannot give you what does not exist.”

“But Your Honor, if the police had these videos, then they had an obligation to preserve the evidence.”

“I would agree with you, Mr. Beckett, except this is not evidence. Your client was not on the tapes.”

“That means my client wasn’t at those banks,” Beckett countered.

“No, Mr. Beckett, it only means he wasn’t on the tapes. Since I don’t see how these videos are relevant, I’m not going to grant any sort of remedy.”

“Your Honor-”

“Next motion, Mr. Beckett.”

“That’s it, Your Honor.”

“We have a motion, Your Honor. We haven’t prepared it yet, but Mr. Beckett’s comments raise an issue.” Pierce waited for Sutherlin to nod before continuing. “The defense apparently intends to show one or more of these tapes for the purpose of showing that Mr. Beaumont allegedly does not appear on the tape. We object to that in light of your ruling that his failure to appear on video is not relevant to this proceeding.”

“I don’t know which tapes Mr. Pierce is referencing, but I believe it is entirely relevant to show the videos that are in our possession, seeing as how the prosecution is relying on them as proof that Mr. Beaumont supposedly opened these bank accounts.”

The Judge scratched his sharp, clean-shaven chin again. “I’m going to defer a ruling on this until I can see the videotapes. File a pre-trial motion on this matter for all tapes you want excluded, and I’ll consider it.” The Judge rose, causing everyone else to rise as well. “If there’s nothing else, counselors?” Sutherlin dismissed them.

Corbin leaned against the window ledge in the restroom as Beckett ran cold water over his face. Like Sutherlin’s office, the restroom was steaming hot and humid. This restroom was located between the judge’s chamber and a conference room where they were allowed to meet privately with Beaumont when he was brought to the courthouse. The entire hallway was away from the public hallways, back behind the main courtroom. Normally, this restroom was reserved for the judge and the clerks only, but Judge Sutherlin gave Corbin and Beckett permission to use it so they could avoid the media, which began hounding anyone remotely connected to the case after Pierce’s television appearance.

“Man, it’s hot in here,” Corbin said, examining the ancient radiator in the corner, which burped, clanked and sizzled. It had no off switch, so Corbin tried opening the window. He yanked at it, but it didn’t budge. “What do we do now?” Corbin asked, turning his attention to Beaumont’s case.

“We prepare for a bigger case than we were expecting,” Beckett said. “This is disappointing.”

“How do we fight evidence the prosecution hasn’t even produced?”

“That’s the question. We might have a problem if Sutherlin lets in the prior crimes evidence.”

“Can he do that? That’s not admissible at trial, right?”

“Not generally, but you can use it for some purposes, like refuting direct statements made by witnesses, like ‘I’ve never owned a gun.’”