John Grisham - The Activist

Judge Yeck paused and looked around the crowded room. “This court has jurisdiction over animals and animals only. By law, that includes issues involving cruelty to animals. I’m looking at a complaint filed by Mr. Theodore Boone in which he alleges that Mr. Larry Samson took a five-foot wooden survey stake and beat his dog, Judge, until he was unconscious. That sounds like cruelty to me, so I am assuming authority over this case. Any response, Ms. Caffrey?”

Ms. Caffrey stood with her legal pad and her reading glasses perched on the tip of her nose and said, “Your Honor, we have filed a motion to dismiss these charges, or, in the alternative, to move everything to Circuit Court.”

To which Judge Yeck rudely said, “Motion denied. And you don’t have to stand up in my court. Anything else?”

Theo had seen this before. Hotshot lawyers appearing before Judge Yeck with an attitude because they considered Animal Court to be the bush leagues. They usually did not fare too well.

Ms. Caffrey sat down and said, “Yes, Your Honor, we would like a record of this trial, so we brought along a court reporter.”

“Sure,” Judge Yeck said with a shrug. Animal Court was not a court of record, which meant that the testimony of the witnesses and the statements of the judge and lawyers were not recorded in any way. In every other court in the building, a court reporter, or stenographer, recorded everything electronically and by shorthand. Because the altercation between the boys, Judge, and the survey crew had led to so many legal problems, it was a wise move to start recording the testimony of the witnesses.

“Anything else?” Judge Yeck asked Ms. Caffrey.

“Yes, Your Honor, I ask that you recuse yourself as judge in this matter and the case be assigned to another judge.”

Yeck didn’t flinch. “On what grounds?”

“I believe this particular dog passed through this court about two years ago, and that you were responsible for him being adopted by the Boone family.”

“Why is that a problem? Who else would handle such a matter?”

“It’s just, that, well, it appears as though you might be too close to this dog.”

“I haven’t seen this dog in two years,” Judge Yeck replied. “And during that period of time a thousand dogs have come through my court. Request denied. Can we start now?” It was evident to Ms. Caffrey, and to everyone else in the courtroom, that she was already on the judge’s bad side. Things could only get worse.

Ms. Caffrey did not respond.

“Anything else?” Judge Yeck asked sternly.

She shook her head. No.

Judge Yeck said, “Mrs. Boone, I believe you are acting as the attorney for your son, the owner of the dog, and that your co-counsel is Mr. Woods Boone. Correct?”

“That’s correct, Your Honor,” Mrs. Boone said with a warm smile.

“Then call your first witness.”

Mrs. Boone said, “Theodore Boone.” Theo stood, walked ten steps, and sat in an old chair closer to the judge, who said, “Raise your right hand, Theo.” Theo did so, and the judge asked, “Do you swear to tell the truth?”

“I do.”

Judge Yeck said, “Look, Theo, I know you’ve been in my court before, but today it’s a little different. That court reporter over there will record every word, so I want you to speak clearly and slowly, okay? This goes for all the witnesses.”

“Yes sir,” Theo said.

“Proceed, Mrs. Boone.”

Staying in her chair, Mrs. Boone said, “Okay, Theo, tell the court what happened.”

Slowly, and as clearly as possible, Theo told the story of the encounter with the survey crew. He pointed straight at Larry Samson when he described the beating of Judge. He almost got choked up when he described how he scooped up his bleeding and knocked-out dog and began running, and while he was running away, he heard the men laughing behind him. He looked at Judge as he testified, and he looked at his mother, father, Ike, his friends, and occasionally at the four men, all of whom sat with their arms folded over their chests. A time or two Larry Samson frowned and shook his head as if Theo were lying.

He told his story without interruption, and when he finished Ms. Caffrey declined the opportunity to question him.

Hardie went next, then Woody. All three told the same story; all told the truth. The courtroom was quiet as they testified, and Judge Yeck absorbed every word.

“Any more witnesses, Mrs. Boone?” he asked.

“Not at this time. Maybe later.”

“Very well. Ms. Caffrey, call your first witness.”

Without standing, she said, “Your Honor, I call the defendant, Mr. Larry Samson.” As the witness stood and sort of stomped toward the front, Judge slowly rose from the floor and balanced himself on his three good legs and the broken one. He uttered a low growl, just loud enough for Theo and Ike to hear. Theo reached down and patted his back and hissed, “Shhhh.” Judge relaxed but kept his eyes fixed on Mr. Larry Samson, as if he would attack and draw blood if he were able.

Mr. Samson took the witness chair, promised to tell the truth, then almost immediately started lying. After establishing where he lived and worked, Ms. Caffrey said, “So, Mr. Samson, you’ve heard what these three boys said. Tell us your version of what happened.”

With a smirk, his first words were, “These kids are lying, all three of them. It was Friday afternoon, and after a hard week we were winding down. All of a sudden, these three kids show up on their bikes, with the dog, and start threatening us. That one there in the blue shirt, Hardie, he’s the big shot and says we’re on his family’s land and so on, and he demands that we leave immediately. You know, we were leaving anyway, the day was over, the week was over, but anyway this smart-mouthed kid is giving us a load of crap about being on his family’s property. Then the Boone kid pops off about getting us arrested for trespassing. They were jawing, we were jawing, but we weren’t about to get into a fight with a bunch of little brats. Then Boone pulls out a cell phone to call the cops and we yell some more. Finally, we tell the boys we’re leaving anyway and they get back on their bikes. The dog had been sniffing around, growling and such, trying to act bad, and anyway when they take off on their bikes, the dog somehow got in the way and one of the boys ran over the mutt with his bike. I didn’t see it but I heard the dog squeal, and when I turned around there was a pileup with the bikes and boys and somewhere at the bottom was the dog, who was yelping pretty bad. That’s how the dog got hurt.”

Theo looked like he’d been kicked in the stomach. From behind him he heard gasps from Woody and Hardie. The entire Boone side of the courtroom seemed stunned, almost too stunned to think for a second or two.

Their reactions were not missed by Judge Yeck.

When Mrs. Boone finally caught her breath, she said, “So, Mr. Samson, you did not hit the dog or touch the dog in any way?”

“I did not.”

She nodded suspiciously and looked directly at Judge Yeck. At this point, she could attempt to argue and haggle with the witness, but she was too experienced. Because she spent so much time in court, Mrs. Boone knew what was coming. The four men concocted a lie, which all four would stick to. Judge Yeck would have to decide which story to believe, and Mrs. Boone had a hunch he would side with Theo.

“Nothing else,” she said. Theo leaned over and whispered, “Mom, he’s lying.” She just nodded. Woody leaned over to his father and whispered, “Dad, he’s lying.” Hardie leaned over to his grandfather and whispered, “Pops, he’s lying.”

“Call your next witness,” Judge Yeck said. As Willis Keeth walked forward, Judge Yeck glanced down at Theo and gave him a quick wink. No one saw it but Theo.