Stephen Penner - Presumption of Innocence

Edwards raised a hand toward the bench. "Uh, may I have a moment to speak with my client, Your Honor?"

"Of course, counsel," Judge Caruthers replied without looking away from his computer, his mouse clicking periodically. The rumor in the courthouse was he played solitaire all day while just ratifying whatever the attorneys had agreed to. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it's good to know a judge won't go sideways on a plea bargain. But Brunelle wasn't worried about the judge going sideways.

"Is there a problem, Jess?" he whispered to Edwards. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery were in the gallery behind him.

Edwards didn't reply audibly, but waved him away while she was whispering with Holly.

Brunelle looked at Yamata and shrugged. She shrugged back. They waited, Brunelle's anxiety rising with each second. Finally, Edwards nodded at Holly, then stood up to address the judge.

"My client has changed her mind, Your Honor," she announced. "She does not want to plead guilty."

Brunelle heard the outraged "What?" from Mr. Montgomery behind him. Mrs. Montgomery said something too, but he couldn't quite make it out. It wasn't anything good though, he knew. Brunelle stood up as well. "May I have a moment to speak to counsel, Your Honor?"

"Of course," replied the judge. Brunelle wondered if he'd gotten all the aces yet.

"What the hell's going on, Jess?" he whispered to his counterpart.

"She changed her mind, Dave," Edwards whispered back. "She doesn't want to plead."

Brunelle clenched her jaw. "Is she holding out for the rendering criminal assistance charge? You told me she'd plead to burglary."

"No, she's not holding out. I specifically asked her that, and she said she wouldn't plead to anything."

Brunelle tapped his hand on his leg. "Tell her I'll give her the damn rendering, Jess. I need her to plead."

"I know, but she doesn't want it. I'm telling you. Something changed since I talked to her yesterday. She was totally on board with the burglary and testifying. Now all she'll say is 'I'm not pleading and I'm not testifying.'"

"Counsel?" the judge finally turned from his computer. Must have run out of moves. "Where are we?"

"We need to strike the plea," Edwards answered.

Brunelle narrowed his eyes. "And schedule a motion to transfer the case to adult court."

"Come on, Dave," Edwards whispered. "Give me a chance to work on her."

"Fuck her, Jess," Brunelle whispered back. "She doesn't want to testify against him, then she can sit next to him. I may not be able to have her executed, but she can spend the next three decades in prison."

***

"What the hell was that?" Brunelle demanded of Edwards once they were in the conference room between the courtroom and the hallway. The hallway where he knew the Montgomerys were waiting to yell at him.

Edwards shrugged. "I told you. She doesn’t want any deals any more. She said she doesn’t even care if the case is transferred to adult court."

"Did you tell her she'll die in prison?"

"Oh yeah, she gets that."

"Well, good," Yamata chimed in. "She deserves it anyway for what she did."

Brunelle winced. This was about negotiations and trying to get to the best possible result. It was also about long term professional relationships with defense attorneys you see again and again and again. It might also be about someone getting what they deserve, but you don't say that out loud. Not to Jessica Edwards anyway.

"What she deserves?" Edwards snapped. "A fifteen year-old-girl who was raped and controlled by a twenty-year-old man doesn’t deserve to spend her entire life in prison."

"A fifteen-year-old girl," Yamata shot back, "who knocked on Emily Montgomery's door knowing what that twenty-year-old man was gonna do to her? Who staked out the place and waited for her parents to leave? Who made the entire damn thing possible? Who didn't come forward until she was arrested and even then hesitated to tell the truth? Yeah, she deserves to die in prison. She deserves worse."

Edwards' face was turning red. But before she could respond, Yamata finished with, "Tell me what Emily Montgomery deserved?"

Edwards glared at Brunelle, who just offered a pained smile and a shrug.

"You just lost any chance at a deal, Dave," Edwards hissed. "See you at the transfer hearing."

Edwards stormed out of the conference room, slamming the door behind her.

"What a bitch," Yamata growled.

Brunelle shook his head. "Naw, Jessica's all right. She's just a true believer."

Yamata cocked her head. "A what?"

"Jess thinks everybody is basically good and sometimes people make mistakes. She thinks cops lie and prosecutors only care about winning. Every one of her clients is being treated unfairly and it's her job to protect them from the powerful government that's trying to put them away for something they didn't really do."

Yamata's jaw dropped. "Does she really believe that?"

"I think so," Brunelle nodded. "Being a criminal defense attorney is a tough job. Defending people who've committed crimes takes a special mindset. A lot of people can't look themselves in the mirror. It's worse if you’re a public defender. If you're a private attorney and some psychopath comes into your office, you can always say no. But Edwards gets a file on her desk and she has to represent that psychopath. And worse yet, the psychopath thinks she sucks because she's a 'public pretender,' even though she's probably tried twice as many cases as your typical private defense attorney."

Brunelle smiled as Yamata processed the information.

"Just don't bring up the victim," Brunelle smiled. "She hates being reminded there's a victim."

"But that's the whole point of criminal law," Yamata argued, "to vindicate the victim."

"Maybe," Brunelle shrugged. "But you have to know when to bring it up with her. It tends to piss her off."

Yamata crossed her arms. "I can see that."

"So bring it up just before her closing argument," Brunelle winked. "Totally fucks with her."

Yamata laughed out loud. "Oh, Mr. Brunelle, I like that."

Brunelle smirked. "I thought you might. And remember, it's Dave."

"Right. Dave." She saluted and offered a fabulous smile. "Don't want you to feel old when you're around me."

Brunelle wasn't sure what to say, so he changed the subject. "Come on, let's go get yelled at by the parents."

***

"What just happened?" Mr. Montgomery demanded as soon as they stepped into the hallway.

"Change in plans," Brunelle smiled. "But nothing we can't deal with."

"I thought you said you needed her?" Mrs. Montgomery pointed out.

"I did," Brunelle conceded, "but part of my job-part of our job," he gestured to Yamata, "is to be prepared for any contingency and move forward with the prosecution."

"Can you do that?" Mr. Montgomery questioned.

"Definitely," Brunelle asserted, although he wasn't really sure how. Then he realized something. "Although not the rape of a child count. That will have to be dismissed without Holly's testimony."

Mr. Montgomery shrugged. "Well, it hardly matters if he gets a death sentence. The jury will still hear about the sick pervert, right?"

Brunelle shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Too prejudicial."

"But it's the truth," Mrs. Montgomery protested.

"I wish this were about the truth," Yamata said, "but it's about evidence. If we get too close to the child rape allegation, it could result in a mistrial."

"Followed by a motion to dismiss," Brunelle agreed, "for governmental misconduct. We'll paint the picture. The jury should be able to connect the dots."

Mr. Montgomery looked at his wife, then back at the attorneys. "Well, I don't really give a damn right now about what happened to Holly What's-her-name. I care what happened to Emily. You're sure the murder prosecution can go forward without her?"