William Bernhardt - Capitol offence

"I'll allow this," the judge ruled.

"No. He is not a danger to anyone. The extreme circumstances that produced this anomalous situation will not and cannot recur."

"Thank you," Ben said, returning to his seat. "I'll pass the witness." And pray to God for deliverance from the barrage he knew was soon to follow.

Guillerman strode up to the witness box without missing a beat. He was coming on strong, and clearly he wanted everyone to know it. He couldn't afford to let this witness step down without putting a few dents in his highly educated armor.

"Just so the jury knows where everyone stands, Doctor, are you being paid for your testimony today?"

"No. I'm being paid for my time."

"So you are being compensated for being in the courtroom today."

"Yes. Just as you are, counsel."

Guillerman smiled. "I'll bet you're getting more. What's your hourly rate?"

"I get two hundred dollars an hour normally, but I charge three hundred for court time. Obviously, there are more problems when I have to come to court."

"Gosh, I'd hate to think of you being inconvenienced. What are the additional problems?"

"Having to drive downtown, find a parking place. And put up with cross-examination, of course."

Even though his delivery was totally flat and dry, Estevez was managing to get in a few zingers. Ben had no idea how that would play with the jury, but he was enjoying it.

"Does that three hundred dollars an hour include time spent in preparation for appearing in the courtroom?"

"Yes."

"How much of that time have you logged?"

"About twenty hours."

Guillerman whistled. "This little murder trial is turning into a real cash cow for you, isn't it?"

Estevez's reaction was cold. "I wouldn't put it that way."

"During this preparation, did you meet with the defendant?"

"Of course."

"And you met with his attorney?"

"I talked with Mr. Kincaid and his partner, Ms. McCall."

"And they told you what they wanted you to say?"

"Don't be offensive. I told them what conclusions I had reached regarding the incident. They didn't tell me anything."

"And you pocketed about ten thousand dollars for your trouble."

"Something like that."

"I would imagine you could get most people to say just about anything for ten thousand dollars."

"Objection," Ben said. He kept it quiet. The objection had to be made, but he didn't want to start a fuss. Expert witnesses got paid and the jury could do with that what they would.

"That's all right," Guillerman said. "I think I've made my point."

Several times over, Ben thought.

"Dr. Estevez, you mentioned that at some point prior to the murder you prescribed medication for Dennis."

"Yes."

"You described it as a mild anti-anxiety drug."

"Yes."

"It sounded as if his anxiety levels were rather high, at least at the time."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you prescribe something stronger?"

"This was the first time he had taken anxiety medicine. You don't start anyone on the strongest medication. You start with something mild, then see if more is required."

"But you could have prescribed something stronger, right?"

"I have the ability, if that's what you mean."

"And you chose not to. Tell me, sir-is it correct to say that if you had prescribed something stronger before all this happened, we might not be here today?"

"Objection," Ben said. "Speculation."

"I'll allow it," the judge ruled. "He is an expert."

The witness answered, "I seriously doubt it. I mean, I suppose if I had given him something so strong that it knocked him out he couldn't have done anything. But short of that, I don't think it would've made any difference."

"And that was because his anger was so intense, he was going to kill that cop no matter what."

"Objection," Ben said. Again, he played it weary, rather than angry. Better to give the impression the objection was obligatory, even though he knew no juror could be foolish enough to be swayed by it, rather than to act as if it were of great importance.

"Sustained."

"Well, let me come at this a different way." Guillerman rested his hands on the witness box and stared directly at Dr. Estevez. "That stuff you prescribed later-Risperdal. It's actually used for a variety of reasons, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"And one of those reasons is that it's supposed to improve impulse control. Or to put it another way, to suppress strong feelings. Violent impulses."

"It is used sometimes for that purpose, but-"

"So what you actually prescribed was something to help the defendant control his violent and angry temper."

"I had no reason to believe-"

"Tell me, Doctor. Is having a bad temper the same as being insane?"

"Of course not."

"But the defendant does have a history of violent temper, right?"

"I would not agree with that statement."

"He was in fact having troubles with his wife, the one whose loss supposedly drove him over the brink, right?"

Estevez took a deep breath. "Every marriage has its problems. Even the good ones."

"And he had in fact been violent with his wife."

"There was one incident that-"

"Dr. Estevez, isn't it true that the defendant was angry, even before his wife disappeared, because he believed his wife was having an affair?"

"Objection!" Ben rose to his feet. This one would require more strength. Where had this come from? He glanced at Christina. She was just as puzzled as he. "This is not relevant."

Judge McPartland tilted his head to one side. "I suspect it may be. Overruled."

"Please answer the question," Guillerman directed the witness.

"Dennis did believe that at one time."

"And he was particularly angry," Guillerman said, "because he believed she was having an affair with a cop, right? Isn't that the truth?"

The courtroom buzzed with whispering and murmuring. Spectators moved back and forth as if a fire had been lit beneath them. Several reporters made for the rear doors.

Ben glanced at Dennis. He was doing an admirable job of not reacting to this latest bombshell. But Ben himself would like to know if this was true. Because if it was, it changed everything. The jury would never be satisfied until they knew the truth.

And the only one who could tell them about that was Dennis.

Even Estevez seemed surprised by this revelation. "He never mentioned that."

"Did he mention an affair?"

"He had some suspicions, but-"

"And if his wife was cheating on him with a police officer, that would certainly give him additional motivation to kill a police officer, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose, but-"

"So in fact, the defendant's vendetta against police officers began even before his wife disappeared!"

"Objection!" Ben insisted.

Judge McPartland nodded. "This time I have to agree. The witness already said he hadn't heard this before. Rein it in, counsel."

"Of course, your honor." Guillerman tucked in his chin. "I just want the jury to understand the source of the defendant's anger." He looked at the witness again. "Because it's possible for someone to be so angry that he is driven to extreme action without being insane, isn't it?"

"It's also possible to have anger, frustration, guilt, and worry consume the normal personality and produce an aberrant psychological reaction."

Ben was glad to see their witness earning his money.

Guillerman did not relent. "But it doesn't always happen that way, does it? In fact, that would be the exception, not the rule."

"True."

"And isn't it also true that insanity should not be assumed in cases of extreme or atypical action simply to grant mercy to sympathetic cases?"

Ben eased forward in his chair. He didn't like where this was headed. He wanted to object, but he knew the judge would slap him down, since he had been implicitly asking the jury for mercy all along.