Stephen Penner - Presumption of Innocence

"Ladies and gentleman, a criminal trial is not like a conversation in the dining room, trying to figure out which child broke the cookie jar. There are rules and there are burdens and they are there for a good reason. Indeed, the highest possible reason.

"Justice.

"The State wants you to believe that the only way Emily Montgomery receives justice is by killing Mr. Karpati."

Again Brunelle choked back an objection.

"But I tell you, the only way justice is done in this case is to hold the State to their burden and acquit a man against whom there is no evidence. In fact, ladies and gentlemen, I submit to you that there are only two possible conclusions from the State's evidence. The first is that they did not prove the charge and my client must be found not guilty. The other possibility, the only other possibility, is that my client believes he is a vampire, in which case he is clearly insane and must be found not guilty by reason of insanity."

A murmur of shock rippled through the courtroom. Brunelle looked at Yamata, eyebrow raised. She raised both of hers in return.

"I will tell you now, Mr. Karpati will not testify. He doesn't have to and he doesn't need to." Welles raised a hand and pointed at all the jurors. "And shame on every one of you who just thought that must mean he's guilty. The judge has told you before and she will tell you again: you may not hold my client's right to remain silent against him in any way. Now I know, it's human nature. We expect someone to deny the charges against him. But when the burden is on the State to prove the charges and they fail to do so, then a defendant not only may stand mute, he should. He must. And so he will.

"But you will hear from a witness. A witness who will respond to this allegation that Mr. Karpati is a vampire-or thinks he's one. Dr. Russell Orbst. He will explain, quite simply and without any doubt, that if you believe Ms. Thompson, the bartender, then you will also be required to return a verdict of not guilty."

Brunelle looked over at Yamata to offer a 'can you believe this?' eye roll, but she avoided his gaze. Instead she was looking at Welles, smiling. A big smile.

"For you see, ladies and gentleman, gone are the days when friends and family of crime victims banded together to bring vigilante justice to suspected wrongdoers. How many innocent lives were destroyed by such barbaric practices? No, we have a system now. A system with checks and balances. A system designed to vindicate the victim and protect the accused. A system designed, ultimately, to effectuate that highest of human ideals. And so, ladies and gentleman, after you hear all the evidence, you will not be convinced beyond any and all reasonable doubt that my client committed this murder. And you will acquit him, as you are supposed to.

"And when you do, it will mean one thing: Justice.

"Thank you."

Welles returned to his seat. Karpati clasped his arm and nodded an obvious thanks. Then the judge excused the jury for a brief recess before starting testimony. Once they were safely inside their sound proof room, Brunelle looked over at Welles.

"NGI?" he asked. "Really? You want your guy to go the mental hospital instead of prison?"

Welles smiled. "No, I want him to walk out the door tonight. But short of that, I'll take the mental hospital. Their goal will be to cure him as quickly as possible, upon which event he shall be released. And," Welles' grin darkened, "I expect a speedy recovery."

Brunelle's own half-smile faded fully. He nodded with begrudging understanding, then turned back to his trial partner. While his smile was gone, hers was still in full blossom.

"What are you smiling at?" Brunelle asked.

"Russell Orbst," she answered in a low voice. "I know him from my days in civil practice. He's a total whore. He'll say whatever Welles tells him to say."

"That hardly seems like something to smile about," Brunelle observed.

Yamata's eyes twinkled. "It's not. But I know why he's doing criminal cases now. The civil bar figured him out."

"Figured him out?" Brunelle cocked his head.

"Yep," Yamata practically laughed. "You're gonna have fun with him on cross."

Brunelle looked over at Welles, all smug and glad-handling his murderous client.

He looked back to Yamata, his smile returning. "Well, good. I could use a little fun right about now."

"Russell Orbst, Ph.D."

He looked every bit the expert professor. Neatly trimmed beard, and eyeglasses that Brunelle suspected had a prescription of zero. And he was clearly comfortable testifying. He responded to the questions from the lawyer by turning to the jury to deliver the answers.

"Could you please tell the jury your qualifications?" Welles invited.

Brunelle sat back and listened to the list of universities, degrees, and awards.

"Approximately how many times have you testified as an expert witness?"

"More than I can count," was the smug reply.

"But less than you used to," Yamata whispered to Brunelle.

The introductions out of the way, Welles moved directly to the heart of the matter. "Doctor, have you had a chance to review this case?"

"Yes," he looked to the jurors. "I have."

"And was that done at my request?" Welles clarified.

"Yes, it was."

"Specifically," Welles continued, "did I ask you to form an opinion regarding vampires?"

Russell laughed casually at the obvious ridiculousness of the question. "Yes, you did."

"Now, doctor," Welles became more serious in response to Orbst's laugh, "are you familiar with any cases of individuals actually believing they are vampires?"

Orbst nodded thoughtfully, trading his bemused smile for a clinical scowl. "Yes, I'm afraid I am. Such cases or more common than one might think. In fact, there is actually a clinical diagnosis for it."

"Is that right?" Welles asked as if he didn't already know.

"Yes," replied Orbst. "It's called, appropriately enough, vampirism."

"And what are the symptoms of vampirism?"

"There are several symptoms," Orbst began, "but not all of them need to be present for the diagnosis to apply. The main symptoms are delusions, paranoia, narcissism, and often insomnia. There are also documented cases of auditory and visual hallucinations. One also often sees a deep sense of persecution."

"Are you referring to individuals who want to be vampires?" Welles clarified, "Or who already believe they are vampires?"

"Well, both types exist of course," Orbst turned to direct his response to the jurors, "but the diagnosis I was referring to applies to those who actually believe they are in fact vampires."

"Do such people ever act upon this belief?" Welles asked.

"Do you mean do they bite people in the neck?" Again a comfortable look at the jury.

"Perhaps not the neck," Welles replied, "but yes, is there an attempt to drink human blood?"

Orbst frowned at the jurors. "Unfortunately, yes. Believe it or not, there are actually advocacy group for vampires. They fight what they consider misinformation about vampires. But even they claim a need for human blood. They just assert that the blood is obtained consensually by people who understand and support these true vampires."

"I imagine," Welles posited, "that such understanding blood-donors are rare."

"I would think so," chuckled Orbst. "Hence the neck-biting."

"Now these people who believe they are vampires," Welles steered the topic slightly, "they aren't really vampires, are they?"

"Umm, no." Orbst smiled at the jurors. "There are no such things as vampires."

"And believing yourself to be a vampire doesn't make you a vampire?"

"Believing yourself to be a vampire makes you mentally ill."

Welles smiled. "Would you go as far as to say that it would make you insane?"