Stephen Penner - Presumption of Innocence

"Roger! Please." Mrs. Montgomery huffed at him but he ignored her.

It was like they were all still out by the patrol car the night of the murder. Brunelle managed not to roll his eyes.

"Just the opposite, Mr. Montgomery," Brunelle answered. "We always put two attorneys on a death case. And Michelle is one of our best attorneys."

Mr. Montgomery looked her up and down. "Yes. Well. I can see that."

And then everyone was uncomfortable.

"Why don't we have a seat, Mr. Montgomery?" Yamata motioned to the chairs surrounding the table. "Mr. Brunelle and I have some things to tell you and we'd like to hear your input."

Brunelle was impressed by how Yamata grabbed control of the situation. Montgomery stopped leering and sat next to his wife, who whispered at him to be quiet and listen.

"I'm sure Tammy has already let you know that we've charged two people with the murder of your daughter," Brunelle started. "One adult and one juvenile."

"And you're seeking death on both, right?" Mr. Montgomery wanted to confirm.

Brunelle shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Juveniles can never be executed. The U.S. Supreme Court has held it to be unconstitutional."

"What, never?"

"No, never," confirmed Brunelle. "But that may be just as well."

Mr. Montgomery was about to argue, when Mrs. Montgomery stepped in. "How do you mean, Mr. Brunelle?"

"Well, we have some important decisions moving forward as we try to bring your daughter's killer or killers to justice. Unfortunately, the entire system is stacked against us. A defendant is presumed innocent. We don't just have to prove the case, we have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. If a suspect refuses to talk and asks for a lawyer, we can't tell that to the jury. We have to give them every last police report, every last sticky note any cop or any other witness ever creates about the case. They don't have to give us anything. And the jury will be told again and again by the judge that if they aren't sure about something, then they have to give the defendant the benefit of any doubt."

"Sounds like you think you can't win the case," sniffed Mr. Montgomery.

"Hush, Roger. It sounds like he's being honest." Mrs. Montgomery turned back to Brunelle. "So what do you have planned?"

"Well, this isn't about a plan," Brunelle said. "I just want to explain to you where we're at and what we're facing."

"All right then, Mr. Brunelle," said Mrs. Montgomery. "Where are we at, and what are we facing?"

Brunelle took a deep breath. "There are two people responsible for your daughter's murder," he explained. "A twenty-year-old man and a fifteen-year-old girl. The twenty-year-old man is the major player. It was his idea, he recruited the girl to help, and he did the actual deed.

"The girl is the minor player. She was just along for the ride, and was actually a victim of the man too. She was underage, but he forced himself on her sexually. So we have a pretty clear cut, evil bad guy, and a pretty clear cut, less culpable juvenile who was used by this guy."

Neither Montgomery said anything, but they were both leaning forward, ready for more.

"The girl isn't looking at much punishment anyway," Brunelle continued. "She's a juvenile. We can't seek the death penalty, and if she stays in the juvenile system, which is a better than fifty-fifty chance, she'll only do a few years."

"That's bullshit," said Mr. Montgomery.

"You're absolutely right," answered Brunelle. "But it's the reality of the situation. Here's another reality. We don't have any evidence against the twenty-year-old man. He's gonna walk."

"What?" cried Mrs. Montgomery. "The man responsible for murdering Emily is going to get away with it? How can you say that?"

"I can't convict him without evidence," Brunelle shrugged. "But he lawyered up. That is, he asked for an attorney and refused to give a statement. The only witness I have is the girl, but I can't call her as a witness because she's a defendant herself. She has the right to remain silent. Which is too bad, because she gave a full confession which totally and completely implicated the man."

"Can't you just play the confession then?" Mr. Montgomery asked.

Brunelle frowned and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The man-Karpati is his name-Karpati has the constitutional right to confront and question his accusers. We can't play a tape from the girl without putting the girl on the stand for his lawyer to cross examine. But like I said, we can't put her on the stand because she has the right to remain silent."

Mr. Montgomery's face started to turn a blotchy red, and his clenched fists were shaking. Mrs. Montgomery's eyes were starting to glisten.

"So as it stands now," Brunelle concluded, "if nothing changes, I expect to convict the girl in juvenile court and get a few years on her. And I expect the man to be acquitted, if a judge doesn't throw the case out before that."

"That's not very good news, Mr. Brunelle," said Mrs. Montgomery. "I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't that."

Mr. Montgomery stood up and gazed out the window. Brunelle looked at Yamata. Her eyes were wide and she sported a deep frown. He nodded ever so slightly to her.

"You know… There is one thing we could do," she said. "But we would never do it without your permission."

"What is it?" Mr. Montgomery spun from the window.

Yamata looked to Brunelle to explain. He was nodding and tapping his lips. "Well, like I said, the girl isn't facing much anyway. If we cut her some kind of deal. Some sort of reduction. Nothing too big. But on the condition she testify. Well, I suppose, we wouldn't lose all that much on her, since she wasn't facing much anyway. But then we'd have the best damn witness we could against the twenty-year-old."

The Montgomerys just stared at him.

"If we did that, we could get him." Then Brunelle drove the point home, "And we can kill him."

"Do it," said Mr. Montgomery. "Do whatever you have to do in order to hold that bastard fully responsible for Emily's murder."

Brunelle looked at the mother. "Mrs. Montgomery?"

She stared down for several moments. Then her shoulders dropped and she looked away. "Yes. Do it. Do whatever you have to do."

"All rise!" The judicial assistant banged the gavel as Judge Caruthers took the bench. "The King County Superior Court, Juvenile Division is now in session."

The judge nodded and Brunelle and Yamata took their seats at the prosecutor's table. Edwards sat opposite them at the defense table.

"Are the parties ready on the matter of the State of Washington versus Holly Sandholm?" the judge asked even as he fiddled with the computer monitor on the bench.

"Yes, Your Honor," Brunelle answered.

"I believe so," Edwards responded.

"And this is a plea to amended charges, is that right?" asked the judge.

"Yes, Your Honor," Brunelle stood up to explain. "The State is amending the charges to residential burglary, in exchange for which, Ms. Sandholm is agreeing to plead guilty to the amended charge."

"Have you gone over the guilty plea form with your client, Ms. Edwards?" Judge Caruthers asked.

"I have, Your Honor," Edwards answered. "I am confident she understands it."

The judge looked over to the guards. "Bring in Ms. Sandholm."

The guards unlocked the door and yelled, "Sandholm!" into the holding area. After a moment, Holly stepped through the door and sat down next to her lawyer.

Brunelle was struck by how much better she looked than that day in the interview room. She had put on at least five pounds and was clean. Even in the jail jammies, she was definitely in better shape than on the outside.

Brunelle saw Sandholm whisper something into Edwards' ear and noticed Edwards' eyebrows shoot up.