A Fool for a Client (8 page)

Padraig was by now gasping for breath and he felt his eyes almost popping out.
He had se
en this look on Declan
’
s face before when he had dealt with a woman who had suggested to him that it was no longer the time to kill, but rather a time for conciliation and peace.
She had backed off and apologized after he had given her a couple of black eyes and shoved her face down a toilet and held it there for almost a minute.
But Padraig was different.
He didn
’
t recognize the cease-fire any more than Declan did.
All he wanted was to preserve the organization as a functional entity.

“I
’
m not saying that there
’
s anything good in his dying, Declan,” he choked.
“I
’
m just saying that perhaps we should reconsider this whole idea of operating in
America
.
The IRA doesn
’
t operate there.
That
’
s where we get most of our support.”

“The IRA are a bunch of mealy-mouthed weasels,” Declan replied, slackening his grip.
The reason they don
’
t operate there is because that
’
s where they get their funding from.
They
’
ve sacrificed they
’
re independence to mammon.
That
’
s why they hate us so much.
Because they know we haven
’
t compromised.
They
know
that we
’
re the ones who are in the right, but they haven
’
t the balls to do like us.
They
’
re too scared of offending the establishment.
So while
we
’
re
taking back the loot that the bankers have stolen from the people and using it to fund the next stage of the revolution, they
’
re swaggering around saying...”
–
and here he put on his high-pitched, whining voice
–
“
‘
We
’
re no threat to anyone.
We
’
re not left-wing revolutionaries.
We don
’
t want to overthrow the capitalist system.
We just want to get the British out of the six counties.
Then we
’
ll lay down our arms and let everyone live in peace.
’
”

He reverted to his normal tone of voice, still heavily laden with anger.

“Well that
’
s bullshit.
It would be bullshit if it was true and it
’
s bullshit if it
’
s not.
Half of them are yellow-bellied hypocrites who haven
’
t got the guts to come out of the closet and live as real revolutionaries and the other half are shameless collaborators who think all their is to the liberation of Ireland is winning back the six counties and handing them over to a bunch of capitalist reactionaries in the South.
Well that
’
s not what we signed on for.
We
’
re here to change
Ireland
in a
meaningful
way, and if we have to trample over a few American conservative toes or even corpses in the process, we
’
ll fuckin
’
well go ahead and do it!”

Even through his pain, Padraig was forced to laugh at the way Declan had presented it, while Declan sensing that the laughter was approval, eased up his grip and after exchanging a smile with Padraig released it altogether.

“OK, Declan, you win.
We
’
ll send some one else.”

“Some one else,” said Declan, the eyes and tone of voice still angry.
You
’
ve gotta be out of your fuckin
’
head.”

“I don
’
t understand,” said Padraig, fearing the worst.

“No you fuckin
’
don
’
t!” Declan blurted out, his anger turning into a beaming smile bordering on laughter.
“You think I want to send
you
to do it.”

Padraig was unable to keep the relief from his face.
That had been
exactly
what he feared.
“Then what?” he asked, still nervous in the face of the unknown.

“I
’
m going to go there and do it myself , in the courtroom... as an act of justice.
”

Eight months had not anaesthetized the public to the potential drama of Justine
’
s trial.
Nor had political scandals and wars sated their appetite for excitement.
The throngs who had lined up outside the court and filled its seats were as densely packed as those who had crowded in to see Justine at the pre-trial hearings.

When the court came to order, the judge went through the token preliminary of asking each side if they had any motions.
Abrams, who had covered everything he wanted at the pre-trial, had nothing further to add.
But Parker, although technically only on standby, decided to have a desperate stab at pre-empting the outcome of the trial.

“I have,” he said quietly.
He should have risen before speaking.
But he was so sure that his effort would prove futile that he barely lifted himself off his seat and slumped back a second later.

“You
’
re only here on standby Mr Parker,” Justice Harold Wise responded in a guarded tone.
“However, as this is such a preliminary stage in the proceedings and the jury have not yet been
empanelled
, I
’
ll hear what you have to say.”

The judge saw Parker struggling to hold his face neutral in response to this early break.
The temptation to break.
The temptation to break into a smile was offset by the solemnity of the judge
’
s tone and the nervousness he felt in the face of this sudden and unexpected moment in the spotlight.

“Your Honour,” said Parker,
as he rose with deliberate dignity from his chair, trying to project the image of a much older man.
“In view of the incessant and prejudicial reporting of the background to this case by the press, I move that the charges against my client be dismissed on the grounds that the pre-trial publicity has made it impossible to get a fair trial before an impartial jury.
I also ask for the customary right to present my arguments in full.”

Abrams rose quietly to deliver his counter-punch.

“Your Honour I oppose the motion.
If counsel feels that pre-trial publicity has had such an effect then he should move for a change of venue.
Furthermore he
’
s had eight months in which to file a written motion and I would oppose any delay in the proceedings to
accommodate
oral arguments at this stage.”

“Yes, the point is well taken.
I might have been more amenable to a motion at this stage if it had come from the defendant herself, or if she had changed her mind and asked that her
standby
counsel take over her
defence
.
But in the absence of such a motion from the defendant or a change of mind about appearing
pro se
, the motion is denied. However I will consider a motion for change of venue if I hear one.”

Parker was looking frustrated.

“Your Honour, as the publicity has been nationwide, it
’
s hard to see where the trial could be held to escape the effects of the publicity.
Therefore, if The Court will not entertain a motion for dismissal of charges I move for a postponement, so that the trial can be held when the publicity and it effects have subsided.”

“Again, Your Honour,” Abrams responded.
“The People oppose the motion.”

“Again, I agree with the prosecution.
The motion is denied.”

Usually judges put on an elaborate show of listening diligently to the long-winded arguments of learned counsel before announcing the foregone conclusion.
But this was a no-nonsense judge who saw no need for such a display of hypocrisy.
Aside from that, this was Justine Levy
’
s show, and
she
hadn
’
t moved for a dismissal of charges.
The judge knew what Parker
was feeling right now,
he was feeling a knife twisting in his stomach.
He had now had what he thought of as an unsympathetic judge and a predatory prosecutor to contend with, in addition to an uncooperative client.

“Counsel can determine the partiality or bias of prospective jurors in the normal manner, by examination of individual veniremen.”

“Nice try,” said Justine caustically.
She was angry with Parker for interfering, and she took no trouble to hide the fact.

The judge spoke again.

“The defendant may both challenge for cause and make peremptory challenges.
Standby counsel may question the panel with the defendant
’
s permission and may advise her, but will have no right to make challenges, not even for cause.
Bring in the panel.”

The panel of prospective jurors was led in and the process of jury selection got underway.
The judge recognized the woman sitting next to Abrams.
She was a psychologist by training and a “jury consultant” by profession.
He didn
’
t entirely approve of this: it gave the better financed side the advantage.
Usually that meant the defence, as the prosecution couldn
’
t afford to use them in all cases and therefore, normally didn
’
t use them at all.
But in this case, with Justine playing the Lone Ranger and Abrams dipping into the public coffers
to use this case to advance his political career, it was the other way round.

Jury consultants used anything from residential data and related public opinion surveys to clothing to body language and facial expressions to determine whether jurors were sympathetic or unsympathetic to the their cause, and more importantly whether or not they would be sympathetic to the line of defence that their client
’
s were going to offer.
A woman who killed her violent husband would not want a retired military man on the jury for example.
A policeman accused of beating a black suspect would want a white middle class jury, preferably in an area where a lot of policemen lived, to ensure an acquittal regardless of the strength of the evidence.
Jury selection was not exactly an art, more of an inexact science, like medicine.

Abrams rose and began asking a serious-looking man in his forties a series of routine questions about his job, number of children and whether or not he had followed the newspaper coverage of this case.
The man, James Lawson, was a businessman, had three children and had read about the case.
In an important case like this it was routine for the lawyer
’
s on both sides to look up the jurors
’
records of previous jury service.
Daniel Abrams had records of the entire panel before him and he knew who were the “convicting” jurors and who were the “acquitting” ones.
James Lawson was a
convicting
juror.
He had served once before on a jury in a trial for fraud in which the defendant was found guilty.
It was a different sort of case.
But it showed that Lawson had no qualms or hesitation about finding a person guilty, knowing that the person was going to have to serve a custodial sentence.

“Acceptable to the prosecution,” said Abrams and sat down, confident that Justine would find no grounds to challenge for cause and knowing that she would have to use up one of her peremptory challenges to block him.

Richard Parker was staring at his own records, deep in thought.
He too knew about Lawson
’
s voting record in his past jury service, knew also that he had to find a way to get Lawson off the jury.
Jurors tend to follow patters
–
patterns that speak of their character in the same way as their voting patterns in an election.
Some tend to give the defendant the benefit of the doubt.
Others tend to put their faith in the police.
But he could do nothing without Justine
’
s consent.
The judge had made it clear that she was running the show.
And Justine had made it clear that she didn
’
t want Parker
’
s help.