Savannah Law

by William Eleazer

  Nolan’s defense closing centered on the lack of evidence. He read from a prepared script. No gun, no recovered money, no forensic evidence to connect the defendant to the crime. “Mr. Patel says he opened the cooler. Where are the fingerprints?”

  Scott expected this argument; he would have hammered on it himself if he were defending.

  “This trial is based on a single eyewitness,” continued Nolan. “A robber with a snub-nosed revolver, wearing dark glasses, robs this witness in a span of seconds. Two years later, he can identify him? Don’t buy into that, members of the jury.” The defense closing was a short, almost perfunctory, closing.

  Scott’s rebuttal would be even shorter. He picked up his yellow legal pad on which he had recorded most of Patel’s response to Nolan’s “why are you so sure” question and carefully and slowly read it to the jury. Scott then stopped and pointed directly at the defendant. “There is no question in my mind—there is the man who robbed me.” With that quote, he ended his argument.

  Judge Desano gave the jury their instructions, and the bailiff escorted them to the jury room to begin their deliberations. There was only the single charge of robbery to consider and not a great deal of evidence to sift through, but still it was unlikely the jury would have a verdict before the lunch hour. Judge Desano informed counsel that if the jury came in with a quick verdict, he would hold it until one-thirty. There was time for everyone to have lunch and then return for an update on the jury’s progress.

  Scott saw Jennifer in the middle of the mass of spectators leaving the courtroom. He caught up with her at the doorway.

  “Jennifer, hold up.”

  She turned and looked surprised. “I thought I could sneak in and sneak out. I don’t want to be a distraction.”

  “Distraction? My work is over. Now, I just have to wait on the jury. We can wait upstairs in Daniel’s office.”

  It was a little after noon. Scott introduced Jennifer to Daniel, and they discovered they had some mutual friends. Scott just sat back and listened. He was still a bit wound up from the rush of adrenalin that had propelled him through the morning session.

  Richard Evans entered, holding his cell phone. “I just got a call from Josh Johnson. You won’t believe this. He was calling to ask what to do with his plane tickets.”

  “I believe it,” said Scott. “Right now, I’ll believe anything. I hope you told him where to stick those tickets. Did he say why he backed out?”

  “He said he didn’t back out. He was ready to come—he was looking forward to visiting Savannah again. He said he got a call on his cell phone from some guy in the Savannah DA’s office, that the defendant was going to enter a plea and there would be no trial. The guy just thanked him for his cooperation and hung up. That was Monday afternoon. He didn’t get my calls yesterday because he was guiding some East Coast dudes up the Blue River. That job came up suddenly. He didn’t have his cell phone with him, and there’s not much coverage there anyway.”

  Daniel and Scott looked at each other, stunned.

  “That’s impossible,” said Scott. “A plea was never discussed, not by me, not by Grady, not by Meg—not by anyone in the DA’s office. And no one besides me, you, and Grady even had Josh’s phone number. He’s either full of BS or deranged.”

  “Maybe neither,” said Richard. “Did you give Josh’s name, address, and phone number to the defense?”

  “Yes, of course. I had to.”

  Richard just smiled at Scott; he didn’t have to say a word.

  “I’ll be damned,” said Scott. “First, the hair piece, then a courtroom full of defendant look-alikes, and now we find they eliminated our second eyewitness. Those rotten, deceitful bastards. I remember wondering why Gordon kept saying in his opening statement that we would have only one eyewitness. I thought he would have to eat those words. Now I know.”

  The room grew silent as they reflected on the latest act of perfidy by Gordon’s team. The silence was broken by Jennifer.

  “Scott, you said there ‘was a room full of look-alikes.’ Do you mean the young men in dark suits and dark ties?”

  “Yes, dark suits and mostly red ties. Just like the guy Nolan called up to sit near the defense table. Jeff called me last night and said a half-dozen were in the courtroom on Tuesday. I saw them today.”

  “I saw them, too,” said Jennifer. “One I knew—a recent SCAD graduate, Todd Ashby. I asked him what he was doing there. He said, ‘Working,’ and laughed. He said some guy saw him in Churchill’s Saturday and offered him $500 a day to attend the trial, clean-shaven and in a suit. Todd’s an interior designer. Flexible hours and slow month, so he took the job. He thought they were shooting a movie, and he was to be an extra. He was surprised to find it was a real trial—and with Senator Harrison’s son. That was Tuesday, and he got paid as promised, so he was back again today.”

  “I’m a slow learner,” said Scott. “I’m just now figuring out what we are dealing with—Max Gordon and his cartel of hoods, cheats, and liars. I would include Nolan in that mix, but he lacks their manipulative skill. Max and his team are pros. Nolan is just a super-incompetent lawyer. I’d really like to speak with Josh about that phone call. We just assume he is telling the truth—that may not be the case. Would anyone believe that Max Gordon would be involved in witness tampering?”

  “Yes, Judge Lawrence Desano would,” said Daniel, with a laugh. “That and more. I don’t think he’s through with Max. I think he’s still planning a contempt citation. I’m surprised he didn’t issue it yesterday.”

  “Scott, you may get a chance to speak with Josh,” said Richard. “I told him the tickets were non-refundable and that he could just trash them. He said, no, he would use them anyway. He looked forward to coming. I think he plans to fly in today.”

  “Well, he’s too late to help us with Harrison, but I would still like to speak with him. Try to contact him, and set up an appointment for tomorrow if he comes to Savannah.”

  Scott walked with Jennifer to the elevator. “Thanks for coming,” he said. “Now, I would like to know if you have a read on the jury? What do you think they will do?”

  “You really needed that second eyewitness. That would have sealed it. But Patel was a strong witness. I would convict, but who knows. They are probably wondering if the defendant is really Senator Harrison’s son, and just what does politics have to do with it.”

  “But there’s no evidence to connect any of that to this trial,” replied Scott. “Nothing came out about any political connection. In fact, there’s no evidence that John Harrison is even David Harrison’s son. That was referred to only in the opening statement—and what Max Gordon said in his opening is not evidence.”

  “Yes, but all that is still whirling around in the minds of the jurors. Who knows what they will do with it.” The elevator door opened. “Call me tonight, Scott.” The door closed and she was gone.

  • • •

  At one-thirty, Scott and Daniel were seated in the courtroom, waiting word from the jury. TV cameras and the rest of the news media were in place, but the courtroom was not overflowing as it had been in the morning. John Harrison was seated alone at the defense table, a bailiff seated nearby. Nolan was in the rear corner conferring again with Max Gordon.

  Judge Desano took the bench and announced that the jury was still deliberating. The prosecutors and defense counsel were free to return to their offices or anywhere else they wished to go to await the verdict, as long as they could be back in the courtroom within fifteen minutes of being contacted. Counsel were to provide the clerk of court with a phone number and an alternate number where they could be reached.

  Scott and Daniel returned to Daniel’s office to wait. At five-thirty, the clerk called them to return to the courtroom. Upon arrival, they found the TV cameras still in place along with most of the reporters. However, they were disappointed to learn that the jury had not reached a verdict.

  Not a good sign, thought Scott. He had always heard the longer a jury
was out, the greater the chance for an acquittal or hung jury.

  “The jury foreman sent me a note,” said Judge Desano, “asking that the jurors be allowed to go to their homes and return to continue deliberations in the morning. They don’t want to go back to the hotel where they have been sequestered since Tuesday.” He handed the note to the clerk for inclusion in the record. “I’m sure they have their reasons—they are not staying at the Hilton—but I don’t plan on doing that. I’m going to send them to a nice restaurant then back to the hotel, to return here in the morning. I want counsel here at 9 a.m.”

  And with that announcement, Wednesday’s court activities were over. Most of the day had been spent just waiting, but Scott was again surprised at how totally exhausted he was. Waiting for the verdict proved to be even more tiring than the trial. He went directly to his apartment. It would be another frozen pizza night.

  Scott turned to the local news on WSAV-TV. The trial was the main focus. They replayed the testimony of Vijay Patel, and the camera zoomed in on Nolan as he asked his question, “Why are you so sure that this is the man who robbed you?” Then it zoomed in on Patel as he answered the question. The complete answer—every why detail—was captured on tape. And then once again, the camera was on Nolan as he stood in stunned silence, unable to speak. It seemed even longer, watching Nolan’s silence on TV, than live in the courtroom. Then two of Savannah’s top criminal defense counsel appeared on the screen. They were being interviewed, live, by a TV reporter in the station’s newsroom.

  Reporter: “Tonight we are pleased to have in our News 3 studio two of Savannah’s top criminal defense attorneys, Jeff Brown and Charles Samarkos. Both have been watching the Harrison trial on WSAV-TV and have graciously agreed to appear and discuss the trial. We thank you for coming. Let me start my questioning with you, Mr. Brown. What’s your impression so far of the case against Senator Harrison’s son?”

  Brown: “I’m impressed with how little evidence the prosecutors have. No forensic evidence and just a single eyewitness. A lone witness with a gun stuck in his face? That’s what the state expects this jury to rely on for a conviction? I don’t think so. However, the defense may have snatched defeat right out of the hands of victory during cross-exam of the victim-witness this morning. That defense counsel— the law professor—is not the first to ask a ‘why’ question and get his head handed to him, but that was classic.”

  Samarkos: “At least half of the evidence any prosecutor presents is always manufactured, so I don’t know why so little was produced for this trial. They must have shut down their evidence factory for the summer. But the real surprise so far is the bizarre defense put on by Max Gordon. He wasn’t defending just any old Joe; he was defending the son of Georgia’s next governor. And he blows it. What was he thinking, bringing in a law professor with no trial experience? That was mistake number one. Then his stupid opening statement that got him relieved. He was obviously baiting the judge. That may be a good tactic in some courtrooms, but not with Judge Desano. No doubt Gordon thinks he has a sure reversible error built into this trial, but I don’t think so. Judges always tend to protect judges, and there’s no way an appellate panel is going to reverse Judge Desano on that decision.”

  Reporter: “Mr. Brown, do you agree with Mr. Samarkos, that there’s little chance for reversal based on Max Gordon’s dismissal?”

  Brown: “I don’t think it’s going to be reversed just because Max Gordon was relieved. That’s not the real problem. The problem is that once Max was off the case, there was no adequate counsel for the defendant. The professor, I’m told, is a property professor who’s never tried a case in his life. And it was obvious; he didn’t have a clue. Every accused is entitled to counsel, and this defendant was tried without one. If he’s convicted, I look for a reversal.”

  Reporter: “The defendant did not testify. Did that surprise you?”

  Brown: “Not really. That was the only smart tactic the defense exhibited in the entire trial. When the evidence is this weak, you don’t want your client on the stand. Why give the prosecutors a chance to build their case on cross-exam? The judge will instruct the jury that the defendant has no duty to testify, and if he doesn’t, it’s not to be held against him. It’s been my experience that juries take that instruction seriously.”

  Samarkos: “It sure surprised me. He should have gotten on that witness stand, looked those jurors in the eye, and said, ‘I swear I didn’t do it.’ I believe most jurors expect any innocent person to say that. They will indeed hold it against him, regardless of those jury instructions. So, I disagree with Jeff about putting Harrison on the witness stand. I wouldn’t worry about cross-exam. I would have prepped him so well he could beat a lie-detector test. And remember, this wasn’t a seasoned prosecutor; it was a Savannah Law clinic student.”

  Reporter: “You two have tried criminal cases all over Georgia. I’m sure our viewers would like to know your expectation of the verdict from this jury.”

  Brown: “The fact the jury has been out all afternoon without a verdict looks good for the defense. Or it could be a hung jury. But I never predict a verdict—juries are just too unpredictable. One thing I’m sure of is that the defense counsel is kicking himself in the rear tonight over that last question.”

  Samarkos: “From what he demonstrated in court, the defense counsel couldn’t find his rear to kick.” [Laughter from both attorneys.] “As I said earlier, the evidence is pretty slim. Sure, the prosecutor had lots of witnesses, but it was all show. I expect a not-guilty verdict.”

  Reporter: “Thank you both for joining us tonight. The jury will return for deliberations tomorrow morning, and when they have their verdict, WSAV-TV will be there, live.”

  Scott turned off the TV and called Jennifer. She was home and had seen the same interview. “Not very encouraging,” said Scott. “They expect a not-guilty verdict. And they say we didn’t manufacture enough evidence—that we must have shut down our factory. That really burned me. How do they come up with such garbage?”

  “Oh, Scott, that’s just criminal defense lawyer prattle. And I don’t think the long deliberation means anything either way. They don’t have any real basis for that opinion. The only opinion that counts in this case is the jury’s, and they haven’t spoken. I would vote to convict, and I believe the jury will also.”

  That may have been a stretch, but she thought Scott needed a confidence boost. Jennifer sensed that Scott was tired, and they did not talk long. She reminded him that the first meeting of the Dean Search Committee was Friday afternoon. He said he had it on his calendar. Professor Nolan’s role in the trial was not brought up. Jennifer’s final words were, “Call me tomorrow as soon as the verdict comes in.”

  CHAPTER 43

  Thursday, September 14

  Scott and Daniel met in Courtroom K a few minutes before 9 a.m. Max Gordon and Denis Nolan walked in about the same time and took seats in the rear of the courtroom. The TV camera was in its usual spot, but the cameraman was missing, and the few reporters present were sprawled comfortably on the spectator benches, leafing through the morning newspapers. There were more bailiffs than spectators. The defendant was not present and would not be until the jury had a verdict or the court was called to order for some special purpose. Shortly after nine, Judge Desano sent the clerk to inform counsel that, like the previous day, they could leave the courtroom as long as they could be reached by phone and be back within fifteen minutes.

  Scott and Daniel returned to Daniel’s office to await the verdict. Minutes after their arrival, Richard walked in with news that Josh Johnson was present in the waiting room. He arrived Wednesday evening. He called Richard Thursday morning, and Richard picked him up at his motel.

  “Invite him in,” said Scott.

  Josh, a tall, muscular man with a thick, unruly beard—the perfect picture of a Colorado fishing guide—entered. After the introduction and handshakes, Scott got right to the point.

  “I understand you received a pho
ne call informing you that the trial was off; is that right?”

  “Correct,” replied Josh.

  “Male or female voice?”

  “Male.”

  “Did he give a name?”

  “No. Just said he was calling from the Office of the District Attorney in Savannah. Said there would be a plea and that I wouldn’t be needed. He was off the phone before I could ask him what to do with my plane ticket. I got an unscheduled overnight job on the Blue River and was mostly out of touch by phone until I got back to Breckenridge. That’s when I called Richard and found out the trial was still on, but that I had missed it.”

  Scott looked down and saw a cell phone on Josh’s belt. “Did the call come in on that cell phone?”

  “Yes, it did. It’s my only phone.”

  “Is the number that called you still in the phone’s directory?”

  “I suppose so. I haven’t deleted it.”

  “See if you can find it.”

  Josh examined the phone and found the date and time the call came in, and the number. “Here it is—312-711-6722,” he said.

  Richard quickly got up and said he would check out the number. He was back in minutes. “It’s a Chicago number, but it’s a cell phone or unlisted, and I can’t pull up the owner.”

  “Chicago. I think that’s enough. That call was from Max or one of his cohorts.”

  Scott dialed the number for Judge Desano’s chambers, and his assistant answered. “May I please speak with the judge? It’s important.”

  Judge Desano was soon on the phone. Scott asked for an immediate meeting in the courtroom. He had an urgent motion to make.