Directed Verdict (Failed Justice Book 1) (16 page)

CHAPTER 30

PART THREE

OPPOSITES REPEL, NOT ATTRACT

The District Attorney knew he would be under the closest of scrutiny. The entire state would be watching. Maybe the whole country. His pick for who would actually prosecute the case had to be perfect. No one who would lie down and let the defendant walk. No one who was uncaring as to the delicate situation.

In the end, he chose Marta Clarke.

She was tall, smart, and black.
I’m a tried and true professional and my focus is winning, nothing else.

Those who knew her by reputation spoke her name with reverence and awe. Many with abject fear. Everyone in the courthouse referred to her as
The Black Widow.
She had been with the District Attorney for Essex County for more than twenty one years, fresh out of law school. To her it was the perfect job. The only job she ever wanted.

Getting the scumbags out of circulation.

Her record of convictions was near perfect.

She would be the lead prosecutor in the case of People vs. Kolkolski. Everyone was betting on a conviction. No one survives the bite of the Black Widow.

***

When Wally heard the news his brain went into overdrive. Money, a retainer, was not even a consideration. What good would it do him in a high security prison; and that would be where murderers are sent. All too well did he know that.

He also knew the reputation of Billy Jo Gibson. Everyone who followed criminal law did. He had a reputation; he had a following and it was well-deserved. He was the best. If you didn’t believe it, just ask him.

Billy Jo Gibson was a good ol’ boy from Martinsburg, West Virginia, just a couple days’ ride on his favorite palomino to Newark. Although Billy Jo wore alligator cowboy boots, a ten gallon Stetson, and a silver belt buckle the size of a small pepperoni pizza, the last time he was on a four-legged critter was when his mama had a picture taken of him on a bored twelve-year-old pony. While sitting there the pony began to get a bit frisky and Billy Jo wet his pants. Actually he was wearing blue corduroy shorts with a top to match.

That particular subject was never talked about again. By anyone.

Wally was smart enough to know not to trust anyone in Essex County. They would sell their allegiance for the price of a bar association dinner. No, he needed outside counsel and he needed someone not afraid of the Black Widow.

When word got out as to who opposing trial counsel would be, the available gallery seats were the hottest item in town. You would have thought the circus was here or Ali was going to fight Foreman again.

All that was now necessary was to select the judge. He had to be forceful to keep the gladiators in line. He had to rule with an iron fist in one hand and a cat-of-nine tails in the other. The trial judge could be just the leverage to sway the jury.

***

“Sir, should I call you sir or Mr. Chief Judge? With all due respect, I don’t think this is such a good idea.”

“In chambers you may call me Steve or Steven, whichever you are most comfortable with, but I think this is a great learning opportunity for you, Bob. Yes, you may make a mistake or two, we all did in the beginning, but you were a damn good defense attorney for more than twenty years, if I recall. You were also a very bright assistant district attorney. Trust me, you’ll do just fine. Good luck to you.”

Judge Robert Sugarman had been dismissed. His new robes had not been to the dry cleaners for the first time and here he was being assigned the one case that could enhance or end his judicial career.

People vs. Walter A. Kolkolski.

Murder in the first degree.

***

Bob went back to his chambers to think about it. He decided to review the file for the tenth time. The Chief Justice knew he had known Wally for all his professional life. There was no way in hell he could be objective. He explained all this to Steven and just assumed he could recuse himself from the case. The request had been a no brainer. The Chief Justice did not see it that way. Or to be more accurate, chose not to see it that way.

Bob didn’t know it, but he was being set up by the Chief Judge. It was a no-win situation for him.

***

Bail was set at one hundred thousand dollars.

Wally didn’t have half that amount. He had never been a big saver, he never invested in the market or that type of thing, he owned no real property and was now unemployed. No reasonable bail bondsman would touch him.

The entire room fell silent. Retired Judge Walter Kolkolski would sit in jail with the rest of the scum until trial, including a ton of motions and pretrial maneuvering that could take months and months.

Billy Jo had a feeling as to the temperament of not only the jury, but the judge. He was a professional. That’s why he got the big bucks. He had done his homework. He knew of the relationship between Wally and the judge. He knew about the directed verdict. He also knew he had to get his client out of jail—fast. Wally would not last forty-eight hours in jail. There was no solitary confinement in a local county jail. That was reserved for large prisons.

“If it pleases the court, may I be heard again? Sorta re-argument.”

Judge Sugarman was not sure of the rules. He didn’t want to make a mistake, especially this early in the trial. He did not have time to consult the law books or ask his new clerk to prepare a memo for him.

“Go ahead, Counselor.”

Billy Jo rose to his full height of six foot three. He slicked back his coal black hair with one hand and waited for the room to be silent. He now had center stage, where he felt most comfortable, where he was born to be.

“Thank you, Your Honor. As we all know, Judge Kolkolski has spent his entire adult life serving the needs of the good citizens of this jurisdiction. He was not out trying to make a fast buck on real estate developments or using what he had learned on the bench to parlay a tip into a fortune in the stock market. No, Judge Kolkolski put in his time trying to be a good jurist. He did not have time or the ambition to make a great deal of money. Now he has meager funds and cannot afford to make bail. To throw him in with thieves, murderers, the dregs of society, would be a travesty, a travesty of justice. I understand all too well this is a capital case, but if there were ever an occasion of justice being tempered with mercy, this is it.”

“Are you finished, Counselor?”

“No, Your Honor, in fact and with all due respect, I’m just getting started. I understand this is your first big case, Your Honor, and the pressure of judging an old friend must be enormous. I commend you on your courage. You, better than anyone else in this entire courtroom, know Judge Kolkolski is an honest man, not a flight risk. Not even close. You, better than anyone else, know the only way justice can possible prevail is for my client to be with me to properly prepare this case. That is why I am asking you, in fact pleading with you as the final authority in this courtroom, to grant own recognizance.” Billy Jo stepped back and held his breath. “Thank you, Judge.”

Judge Sugarman was now caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. He knew damn well Wally wouldn’t run. He was not that kind of a person. He also knew in a capital case, no one is released on their own recognizance. His head was pounding and this was only the bail hearing.

Why would anyone want to be a judge? I am not Solomon. I do not have that kind of wisdom.

“I have some thinking to do. Fifteen minute recess.”

The court attendant yelled out, “All rise,” and the judge rushed back into his chambers behind the courtroom.

***

Once in chambers, Sugarman rested his head in his cradled arms. He drank a small glass of water. He was stalling and he damn well knew it.

Do I have the chutzpah to actually do it?

As if having a conversation with an imaginary person, he continued talking to himself.

Whose courtroom is it? Who can tell me what to do? If I buckle now, what will I do when the shit really hits the fan? This is a test and I’m damn sure not going to fail it on the very first day of class.

He gulped down the glass of water. He wished it was something stronger.

Judge Sugarman failed to notify the court attendant of his return to the bench. No one was prepared. They were all mulling around the swinging gate as he rushed back through the back door of the courtroom like a man possessed.

“Court is now in session.”

Everyone turned to see who made the pronouncement. It was the judge himself.

After a minute or two for decorum to reign, the court turned to a still surprised Billy Jo Gibson.

“Do I understand counsel has a motion to make?”

It took Billy Jo a few seconds to understand what the court was asking. He quickly recovered, straightened his tie, buttoned his jacket, and approached.

“Yes, Your Honor. We ask Judge Kolkolski be released upon his own recognizance.”

“Granted.”

Before a rattled Marta could vault out of her seat to object, the court continued.

“We are adjourned. Any other motions will be heard on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.”

With that he literally slammed down the gavel and almost ran back to chambers.

The courtroom was going wild. No one believed what they’d just heard. It was unprecedented. Totally unprecedented.

“Damn, the judge actually has a set of balls,” someone remarked.

Had Sugarman heard the remark, he probably would have replied,
As of today, yes I do. Yes, I do.

CHAPTER 31

Why that cocky little son-of-a-bitch. Who does he think he is? You never grant own recognizance in a capital case. What was he thinking?

Judge Saltmeyer was beside himself. He was about to call Sugarman into his chambers and give him the reaming of his life. Then he recalled his own words.

“You may make a mistake or two at the beginning, we all did.”

Steve Saltmeyer was livid, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He wondered how much of a mistake he made in assigning the case to a rookie; this particular rookie.

The other judges were thinking the same thing. In the past few years the more or less ceremonial designation had gone to Salty’s head. Several of the judges had heard him make off color remarks, especially about the Jews. A few more comments and he himself would be doing some explaining to the judiciary committee, and Saltmeyer knew who ran that group.

They do stick together, I’ll give them that.

The Chief Justice wanted to have a little pow-wow with Sugarman but felt now was not the best of times.

Bob Sugarman was enjoying his moment of glory. He had proven to all those naysayers he was up for the task. More important, he had proven it to the most important person in the courtroom. Himself.

***

“I don’t know how you pulled that off, but thank you.”

Wally had been processed out in less than thirty minutes, a near record time. He was wearing civilian clothes for the first time in days. Now he needed to go home, take a hot shower, relax, and sleep—with both eyes closed.

He was pumping Billy Jo’s hand as if he was drilling for oil. It was nothing short of a miracle. Now if he could only pull a few more rabbits out of the hat.

For once in my sorry life, I made the right choice. Billy Jo can get me my acquittal. I’m now positive of it.

Wally had not contacted Bernice since he was arrested. He could not afford to spend his precious phone call on his ex. Now he felt he had to explain.

***

Marta now realized she had her hands full. She still could not believe the crap Billy Jo had pulled in the courtroom. She was even more stunned by Judge Sugarman’s ruling. It took guts, she would give him that.

I’m going to get my damn conviction, no matter what I have to do; no matter who I have to embarrass, no matter who I have to crush.

***

“Hi, it’s me. I suppose you heard. It’s on every station up here. All I did was…”

Bernice interrupted.

“Of course not. I was pissed, I’ll grant you that, but murder? No way. You know I detest violence. I have never owned a gun. I was just standing across the street when he called me, asked me to come and talk. And like a damn fool I walked in and got hit on the head by what felt like a two by four.”

Wally listened for a few seconds.

“My guess is it was the Russian. The father of the complainant. That makes the most sense, don’t you think?”

Wally hesitated.

“I’m out on bail, actually own recognizance. I can’t leave the jurisdiction without permission and Sugarman took a great deal of heat even doing what he did. Do you think it’s possible you could come up here for a few days so we can talk?”

Bernice hesitated. Wally was going through a rough time; the roughest of his entire life, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to be a part of what was going on. She was thinking of Antonio and the wonderful time they had together. Granted it was only a few days and nights, but he had been one hell of a stud.

Now he was dead.

Did Wally do it out of rage or jealousy? Or was he set up as he claimed?

“Give me a day or two to think about it. You take care of yourself, Wally. I’m praying for you.”

Bernice hung up before he could reply.