The Good Client

by Dan Decker

  “I know you have your doubts, particularly since I have not been as forthcoming as I should have been, but I did not do this.”

  “Are you rolling the dice?”

  “What do you recommend?”

  “I can’t tell you what to do here. If you take a plea deal when you are innocent, it can be hard to get that overturned. If you’re convicted when you’re innocent, you might have a shot of getting out provided you can prove something like a miscarriage of justice, but that’s difficult as well. If you’re looking at this and thinking seven years isn’t so bad and it’s a darn sight better than life or the needle…”

  I trailed off and did not finish the thought.

  “I’d be happy to give them anything I might have against my father, but I have nothing. I can tell you about a couple times I saw him with Barbara, but that’s about it. What do you think my chances are?”

  “There are still significant holes in the case against you and significant holes in the case against Barbara. I don’t think your father gets past the preliminary hearing, not unless there’s more evidence against him then I have.”

  “Yeah, but what are my chances?”

  “Like a percentage?” I leaned back in my chair and put my hands behind my head. “Shoot, I don’t know. Strictly speaking from a mathematical perspective, I guess your chances are probably 50/50, but it’s a total black box. If we go before a jury, you are never going to predict what’s going on inside.”

  I hesitated, not wanting to say what came next, but knew I needed to.

  “I made a motion to bifurcate the trial, hopefully that will be successful. Regardless, you need to be prepared for what your father’s attorney is going to do to you. They are gonna paint you as the bad guy in all this, Keith might even put your father on the stand and have him testify against you.”

  This had obviously not occurred to Timothy, because he turned pale.

  “If I don’t take this offer are they gonna make an offer to my dad to turn him against me?”

  “That’s generally how these things work. If your father gets up there and lies, hopefully we can prove it, but there might not be much we can do, particularly if he and Barbara get their story aligned. You know her better than I do. Do you see that happening?”

  Timothy swore. “Yeah, I do.”

  “You still have time to make a decision.”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m ready now. Tell them no. Not only that, tell them I am never going to accept a plea bargain on this.”

  Timothy took a deep breath and leaned forward. “I. Didn’t. Do. It. If they send me to the chair and I fry because of it, so be it. I did not do this. I am not going to go to jail for something I did not do. I am not going to lie the whole world and tell them I did this.”

  I nodded. “Tell your mom to replenish the retainer because we got a lot of work to do.”

  45

  Jun 25 – 1:00 pm

  I smiled when I saw the judge’s response to Keith Williams’s motion to dismiss the charges against Ron Cooper, it was pretty much like I expected. The judge was going to wait until after the preliminary hearing.

  He likewise deferred judgment on bifurcating the trial until then as well. This wasn’t a surprise but I had wanted to get it out there sooner than later, hoping to turn Barbara and Ron against each other instead of letting them gang up on Timothy. I had convinced Timothy to waive his right to a speedy trial. Barbara and Ron had done so as well.

  Winston had taken on several cases for other attorneys and had not spent much time digging into Timothy’s case after doing a full workup on Barbara, Ron, and Cynthia. That was probably for the best because I didn’t have any other avenues of investigation for him.

  Even though the preliminary hearing was another month away, I was as prepared for it as I was going to be unless we found new evidence. Regardless, I knew I was still going to review everything each week, hoping to come up with new theories or questions to hopefully find a way for my client to get out of this mess.

  The prosecutors had done several more disclosures, but most of the evidence had little to do with Timothy. There had been some additional email and text messages between Gordon and Barbara, but nothing that explicitly provided more concrete answers to the ambiguous case we were dealing with.

  My phone buzzed and I picked it up without looking. “Yes, Ellie, what you need?”

  “Mr. Lopez is here to see you.”

  I closed the file on Timothy’s matter and opened the one for Mister Lopez.

  “Go ahead and send him in.”

  46

  July 25 – 5:45 AM

  The day of the preliminary hearing came faster than I had expected. When I pulled into my office parking lot I let out a groan when I saw that Ellie’s car was already here.

  I had intentionally not told her I was planning to come in earlier than usual to get ready for the hearing, but she knew me well enough to guess. I needed to shake her of this notion that she needed to always be around when I was working. She was basically my right hand, but I could do without her in the early or late hours of the day.

  When I entered the office I was planning to say something, but she already had a couple of donuts and orange juice for me as she greeted me with a big smile. I did not have the heart to shoot her down after such a thoughtful act.

  “Thank you,” I said, “this is a great way to start the day.”

  “Not a problem.” She had a wry smile that told me she had known what I was thinking and had done this to subvert the lecture I had planned.

  I really needed to encourage her to take the LSAT and apply to law school. Her tenacity would serve her well as a lawyer.

  My theory of the case had not changed much in the last month. I had several different strategies I was going to try to see if I could get the charges against my client dismissed, but none were foolproof, and at the last moment I might think it better to not execute them. Today’s hearing was like a mini-trial with the primary purpose of giving the judge an opportunity to hear the evidence against the defendants to decide whether or not to bind them over to trial.

  Strictly speaking, I didn’t have much to do today, but I had the right to cross-examine all witnesses. I intended to exercise this right to the fullest extent.

  It was rare I was able to get a client off in a preliminary hearing, but I took every opportunity to find a successful resolution to the case, no matter how small.

  I pulled out my trial binder where I had printed all my notes. I also had questions lined up for each witness that the prosecution was likely to call. Finally, I had my handwritten strategy for the day as well.

  There was a knock at the door and, judging by the fact Ellie had not notified me first, I assumed it was Susie showing up for our previously scheduled meeting. Susie was probably the reason Ellie new to be in so early.

  “Is now a good time?” Suzie asked.

  “Sure.” I waved her in.

  She had a copy of the murder book with her as well as her notes on the case. My primary reason for taking her was to have a second set of eyes and ears in the courtroom, listening to everything so I had another opinion at the end of the day. It also helped that she would be sitting at the table with us. She had dressed smartly in a business suit, clearly preparing for the day when she too would be a lawyer.

  An hour later we had reviewed all our material, the donuts Ellie had given me were gone, and I had drained the orange juice as well.

  “You feel ready?” Susie asked.

  I shook my head. “I never feel ready. That’s why I keep on preparing and show up to work hours before the hearing.” It was part of my secret sauce to never feel like I was fully prepared for a matter, because indeed, there was always more I could do. This was one of the things I enjoyed about criminal law. My client’s life and rights were on the line, what better motivation did I need to make sure I did my best?

  “Is it okay if I meet you there?” Susie asked.

  “Of course. See y
ou soon.”

  I packed up my briefcase. On my way out I slipped in a one-liter bottle of Coke that Ellie had ready for me.

  “Thank you.”

  “Just doing my job.” She said with a smile, and while she knew that I would give her a bonus this month for her hard work and extra attention, that wasn’t the reason she did it. It was just who she was.

  On significant matters I preferred to walk over to the court, which was six blocks from my office. It gave me time to clear my head, take in some air, and hopefully walk into the courtroom with a clear mind.

  I stopped when I was halfway to the courthouse to answer my phone.

  “What do you need?” I asked Winston while glancing at my watch, I still had plenty of time to take the call and get to court.

  “Something came in this morning that I thought you would want to know.” Winston paused and I could hear him shuffling papers in the background. “If you recall you asked I do a deep dive into Cynthia. One of the things I did was hire a PI to poke around her home town records. Did you know she was arrested just after she graduated from high school? She was barely eighteen.”

  “No, why didn’t this come up before?”

  “It’s a backward place and they haven’t yet digitized their paperwork. The investigator gets a lot of work and is backed up. He didn’t get a chance to look at Cynthia’s file until yesterday. That’s just how these things sometimes go.” Winston paused and I got the idea he was doing this for dramatic effect. “She was charged with burglary.”

  “Cynthia, really?”

  “Yeah, the case was tossed out—not sure why—so she never had anything show up on her official record when we checked the electronic database.”

  Cynthia Cooper. The woman made my skin crawl but I just couldn’t put my finger on why.

  “Thanks Winston, I’m heading into the Timothy Cooper prelim now. Could you do me a favor and take a second look at what we’ve gathered on her? If anything seems the slightest bit odd, I want you to pull out your magnifying glass and go over it as thoroughly as possible.”

  I looked up at the home I was passing and saw that, like me, they too had one of those new doorbells, the kind you could answer with your phone because there was a camera, it was a different brand than the one I had at my home. Something tickled the back of my mind but the connection disappeared as quick as it came.

  “Will do,” Winston said, “and good luck today.”

  “Thanks.”

  I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

  Cynthia Cooper.

  A few minutes later I was approaching the courthouse while Stephanie came up the walk. I was tempted to frown, but forced a tight smile to my face instead. I had not contacted her since the text message she had sent the day the news had broke about Ron Cooper and Barbara Smith.

  “Good luck today,” she said.

  “I’m not going to need it.”

  I never would have said that if I had a client with me, but as it was just her, she would take it as an inside joke. She had always said I was confident to overflowing and that if I wasn’t careful it was going to get me into huge trouble.

  I often found that the opposite was true. It was the times when I was not confident, when I acted without firm resolve that I usually regretted what I had done.

  I held the door open for her, she smiled in gratitude, and went in. Unlike me, she did not have to go through the metal detector, she just showed her badge and was ushered on her way through.

  I too showed my ID, but I still had to go through the metal detector.

  Several minutes later I entered the courtroom. A third and fourth table had been set up for the additional parties. We were seated at a table on the side. If there had been a jury, they would have been seated behind us.

  I was happy for the arrangement, not only because it did not put my client front and center, but also the Honorable Judge Anderson was going to look at the courtroom today and feel like it was untidy. I was certain that if nothing else came out of today, he would grant my motion to bifurcate the trial.

  I would be happy if that was all I accomplished, but I was hoping for more.

  After I set my bag down at the table, I momentarily took my seat and reviewed my overarching strategy for the day just to get in the proper mindset. After I had done that, I slipped my folio back into my briefcase, locked it, and asked the bailiff if I could see Timothy.

  I made a show of looking at Timothy’s handcuffs once we were alone. “If your attorney tells you to not go out of state, perhaps you should listen.”

  Timothy licked his lips, but didn’t say anything. A week ago, I had received a phone call from him in the middle of the night. He had decided to leave the state, something that was against the terms of his bail. After hanging up with me, he had been picked up for speeding.

  “Did you think they weren’t going to catch you?” I shook my head. “I do the best I can to help my clients, but it’s difficult when they decide to work against their own interests.”

  “Did you just come here to chew me out or do you want to talk about anything?”

  I let out a sigh. “First, what questions do you have about today?”

  “None.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him that I would have preferred if he could dress in a suit today, but I’d already pushed too far on his mistake.

  “Today’s going to be real easy,” I said instead. “Your job is to look interested and innocent the whole day. I will provide you with a notepad and pen, make sure to take notes often, it will make you look better to the judge. If you have an opportunity to make eye contact with the judge, you hold it for just a moment and then look away as if a little uncomfortable because you think you shouldn’t be here, because you know you didn’t do this. That is not an easy message to convey with just a glance, but the little things are going to help the judge form impressions.”

  Not to mention the fact that your dad and Barbara are going to be well dressed because they did not violate terms of bail, while you are wearing an orange jumpsuit.

  I didn’t say that because it was not going to help and there was nothing I could do about it now. I could not blame Timothy for wanting to have a little fun, especially after all the pressure that the kid was under, but if he had just listened to me and turned around when he called from the car, he would have made his life a whole lot easier. It would have increased the chances of getting out today, though not by much. Judge Anderson would undoubtedly take into account, if not consciously, Timothy’s behavior outside the courtroom.

  There was a knock on the door and the guard peeked his head in. “Two minutes.”

  I stood. “I’ll come now.” I put a hand on Timothy’s shoulder and gave him a squeeze. “Remember kid, this is not over until it’s over.”

  “Yeah.” He did not sound as if he believed me, but I didn’t have time to say anything more.

  By the time I got back to the table Susie was there too. We had decided she would sit closest to the judge, Timothy would sit in between, and I would sit on the other end. I did this for several reasons, but it was primarily to obfuscate my client’s appearance.

  I had been furious about his misstep, but past clients had done worse and I had learned to just roll with the punches as they came.

  A moment later Timothy was seated right beside us. Despite my admonition to try and look innocent, he took one look at Susie and went red in the face. He did not like being seen like this, but who would?

  I put an arm around him and whispered into his ear. “Fortitude. Strength. You make it seem like you’re the only innocent guy in the room. I know this seems small and silly, but this is important.”

  He just gave a nod. Soon everybody was seated and the bailiff announced the approaching judge.

  We all rose as the Honorable Judge David K. Anderson came into the room and took a seat.

  “Court is in session.” He looked out at the courtroom. “We have a fine circus this morning, don’t we?” He waited
as if expecting a response before continuing. “I have one day for this hearing and I have a feeling that if I don’t run a tight ship it could easily stretch out for a week. With that in mind I have decided to limit all objections. I have practiced on both sides of the aisle and have been a judge for fifteen years. The matter before us is simple: does the prosecution have enough evidence to bind the defendants over to trial? I think I can figure that out without letting the day turn into protracted bickering.” He looked at me and then at Keith but didn’t take in Adeline Noyce, the attorney for Barbara Smith. Perhaps he didn’t have any experience with her. “If a counsel gets out of line, leave it to me to handle the situation.” He looked at every attorney in turn. “Any questions?”

  This was highly unorthodox but I wasn’t going to be the person to object right when he told us he didn’t want objections. I could tell Keith had a few things he wanted to say but was going to remain quiet as well.

  “Okay,” said the judge. “Mr. Ward, can you get us started today?”

  Frank Ward was immediately on his feet. “If it pleases the Court, the prosecution calls Rodney L. Hopkins.”

  As the officer came forward, I remembered how he had tried to run interference the night Timothy had called me over to his apartment. He looked a little nervous as he approached the stand.

  After Hopkins had been sworn in, Frank started the questioning. The questions were all routine at first, laying the foundation for the initial call from dispatch that had sent him over to respond to Timothy’s phone call.

  I was a little surprised they had chosen to start with this guy, particularly because he didn’t represent well, but Frank had his own way of doing things and I had become accustomed to his style.

  “When you arrived at the apartment,” Frank asked, “what did you see?”

  “I knocked on the door and the defendant Timothy Cooper opened it.”

  “Can you describe his general appearance?”

  “Sure. He was haggard, a little worried perhaps as he ushered me in.”