Bronx Justice

by Joseph Teller

  Jaywalker called Darren's mother, Inez Kingston, to the stand. She entered the courtroom from the corridor imme diately outside, where, as a defense witness, she'd been banished until that moment. As she came in, her husband, Marlin, suddenly sobbed audibly, rose from his seat and rushed out through the same doorway Inez had just entered. He would explain later that the prospect of seeing his wife testifying on behalf of their falsely accused son was simply too much for him to bear.

  Inez walked slowly to the witness stand. As she stood and took the oath, her calm, warm voice belied what he knew was the boiling of her blood pressure.

  Jaywalker had her identify herself immediately as Dar ren's mother. He questioned her about the evening of her son's arrest. She recounted how two detectives had come to her home looking for Darren. One of them was named Rendell. She'd given them Darren's address. As soon as they'd left, she'd phoned Darren, to find out what was wrong. What Jaywalker wasn't allowed to bring out was Darren's response, that he had absolutely no idea. That would have been hearsay, and inadmissible. But he'd at least established the existence of the conversation, which he would be able to use later to show that Darren, alerted that the police were looking for him, had made no attempt to flee.

  Before his next series of questions, Jaywalker had Darren stand at the defense table.

  JAYWALKER: Mrs. Kingston, did you see your son in August of last year?

  INEZ: Yes.

  JAYWALKER: As you see him now, does he look any different from the way he looked then?

  INEZ: No, he doesn't.

  JAYWALKER: Does he look any taller?

  INEZ: No.

  JAYWALKER: Any shorter?

  INEZ: No.

  JAYWALKER: Any heavier?

  INEZ: No.

  JAYWALKER: Any thinner?

  INEZ: No.

  Jaywalker motioned to Darren that he could resume his seat.

  JAYWALKER: Mrs. Kingston, is your son righthanded or left-handed?

  INEZ: Left-handed.

  JAYWALKER: How do you know that?

  INEZ: He writes with his left hand. He eats with his left hand. He throws with his left hand. He does ev erything with his left hand. From the time he was a toddler, everything he did was with his left hand.

  Jaywalker asked her whether any attempt had ever been made to convert Darren to being right-handed. She replied that there had indeed been attempts, as had been common place years ago, with people trying to "cure" children of their left-handedness, much the way some modern-day do-gooders try to "cure" individuals of their homosexu ality. Some evidence had even shown that tampering with left-handedness could produce stuttering, because the por tion of the brain responsible for speech is situated in the left hemisphere. In fact, Jaywalker had briefly considered trying to find an expert to bring into court to discuss it, but because the theory was at best a controversial one, he'd decided against it. It was enough that Darren was lefthanded, and that he stuttered. Cause and effect, if indeed there was one, was irrelevant.

  Jaywalker next brought out that, as far as Inez was aware, Darren neither owned a car nor knew how to drive. He wanted to dispel any notion the jurors might have that Darren had the mobility to zip around from the post office to his apartment to the Castle Hill area.

  Then he moved on to the subject of Darren's speech.

  JAYWALKER: Does your son stutter?

  INEZ: Yes.

  JAYWALKER: And in connection with that stutter ing, when he was growing up, did he ever take any special classes?

  INEZ: Every year he went, they gave him speech class. Every grade. He had to attend speech class every grade.

  JAYWALKER: And when did he stop stuttering?

  INEZ: He never stopped. He still does.

  It seemed a pretty good note to stop on, so Jaywalker thanked the witness and sat down.

  Pope began on a low key, careful not to antagonize the jury by attacking Inez head-on. He established that years earlier the Kingstons had lived some twenty blocks from Castle Hill, that they still had relatives there, and that Darren was familiar with the area. From there he brought out that back in August, Inez had taken care of Darren and Charlene's son while Charlene worked, an arrangement that would have left Darren alone in his apartment when he came home from his job each morning.

  Little by little, Pope managed to chip away at Inez Kingston's direct testimony. Darren, though left-handed, could certainly do some things with his right hand. Inez wasn't really familiar with her son's exact weight. In a situation where Darren felt in control, his stutter was less noticeable. And Inez couldn't say where her son had been on the afternoon of August 16th, the date of the two rapes.

  POPE: How about August fifteenth, the day before? Could you tell us where he was on that day?

  INEZ: No.

  POPE: August seventeenth, the day after?

  These were standard cross-examination questions for an alibi witness who claimed to recall with specificity a date long ago. By showing that the witness couldn't remember the day before or the day after nearly as well, the questioner could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the alibi.

  But something was wrong here. True, as required, Jay walker had listed Inez as a potential alibi witness. But that had been with regard to the September 5th incident, the one she recalled because Darren had phoned her to say he could hear his son crying next door. That incident had been severed out by the judge and wasn't part of this trial. And Inez had just conceded that she couldn't account for Darren's whereabouts on August 16th, the date of the Cerami and Kenarden rapes. Even as Inez began her answer regarding August 16th, alarm bells were going off in Jaywalker's mind.

  INEZ: No. How can I tell you that? How can I go back that far?

  POPE: And how about September fifth?

  Jaywalker was on his feet objecting, even as Inez tried to say she knew Darren had been home that day. Up at the bench, out of the hearing of the jury, he pointed out to Justice Davidoff that while Pope might have selected August 15th and 17th at random, to believe so was actually giving Pope the benefit of the doubt. The 17th, after all, was the date of the attack on Tania Maldonado. As to Sep tember 5th, there could be no doubt whatsoever. Pope had obviously picked it purely because it was the date of the attack on Elvira Caldwell. Pope was doing one of two things, Jaywalker told the judge. Either he was fishing around to see if the defense had alibis for the other two in cidents, or he was suggesting to the jury that something of significance had occurred on those dates, and inviting them to speculate and imagine the worst. Whether it was the former, the latter or both, Pope's attempts were im proper.

  Defending himself, Pope pointed out that Jaywalker had brought out a number of dates during his questioning of various witnesses, giving him the right to do the same. Furthermore, he argued, he had every right to test Inez Kingston's credibility by asking her about her son's where abouts on September 5th.

  Pope was flat-out lying there. The first of his stated reasons—that he could ask about dates because Jaywalker had—was utter nonsense. The second—that his question about September 5th went to the witness's credibility— was totally dishonest. In fact, what Pope was doing was setting up a "straw man," even as he hid his true intentions with evasive explanations. The full scope of his plan wouldn't become clear until later on in the trial.

  In hindsight, Jaywalker should have seen it coming. But you know what they say about hindsight. All he could do at the time was object, and hope the judge would see it his way and sustain the objection. But Justice Davidoff permit ted the question. He did suggest to Pope that he ask the witness about September 6th, 7th or 8th, as well, in order to disguise the fact that the 5th was, as he put it, a "red letter day."

  Finally given a chance to respond to the question about September 5th, Inez stated that she knew Darren had been home on that date. It had been the first day of school for his son, and consequently the first day Inez no longer had to look after him. She also recalled having spoken with Darren on the phone sometime that m
orning.

  Pope asked her about September 4th. That had been Labor Day, she recalled, and Darren, Charlene and their son had come over to his parents' house to visit. To wind up his cross-examination, Pope succeeded in getting Inez to admit that she couldn't say for a fact whether Darren had been in the Castle Hill Houses during August and Septem ber.

  There was no way Jaywalker was going to let Pope have the last word with Inez. On redirect, he had her recount an incident in which Darren had once tried to change a lightbulb for her. The fixture was in a hard-to-reach place, and Darren, on a stepladder, had been required to unscrew the burned-out bulb with his right hand. Unable to do it, he'd been forced to call upon his brother for help.

  Pope, on recross, sought to show that Inez had fabri cated the entire incident.

  POPE: Was there a particular reason, Mrs. Kingston, why you watched your son change this lightbulb?

  INEZ: Yes. I was looking at him changing the bulb because I thought he was going to break it, or fall off the ladder and hurt himself.

  After a few more questions, Pope was finished with Inez, and this time Jaywalker left well enough alone. As she took a seat in the courtroom—where she was now permitted to observe the rest of the trial—Jaywalker had to wonder about the jurors' reactions to her. On the plus side, she'd established Darren's left-handedness, his stutter and several other matters. But underlying her testimony was the fact that she was the defendant's mother. To the jury, that no doubt raised a caution flag over everything she'd said.

  Jaywalker called Charlene Kingston, Darren's wife, to the stand. He knew full well that the same caveat attached to Inez's testimony would apply to Charlene's. But Char lene had a few points of her own to contribute. Besides, Jaywalker wanted the jurors to hear her. And as she was entering her ninth month of pregnancy by this time, he wanted them to see her, as well.

  He established that Charlene was Darren's wife, that they lived together, and that they already had a three-year-old son. He asked her about Darren's appearance back in August, and she replied that it had been the same as it was now. He asked her if Darren owned or had ever owned a tan V-neck shirt. She replied that he never had, but that she could recall De tective Rendell asking her about such a shirt. He asked her if Darren ever drank, and she said he did, on social occa sions. Did he drink wine? No, he drank Seagram'sV.O. Did he ever carry a knife? No, never. Did he stutter?Yes, he did. And with that, Jaywalker thanked her and sat down.

  In Jaywalker's book, less was often better. If you asked your witness only a few questions, you left your adversary with little to pick apart. If he then chose to open up new areas to explore, he did so at his peril.

  As he had with Inez, Pope began gently with Charlene.

  POPE: Mrs. Kingston, I apologize for asking you these questions. I know it's difficult for you. I as sume you love your husband, do you not?

  CHARLENE: Yes, I do.

  POPE: You would do everything you could to help him, would you not?

  CHARLENE: Yes.

  Pope asked Charlene if she knew where Darren had been on August 16th. She replied that he'd been home. But when Pope pressed her to explain how she knew that, Charlene could only say that that was where he always was during the day. Although she'd been in the habit of speak ing with Darren on the phone while he was home and she was at work, it was usually her husband who made the calls. On top of that, he usually called in the morning, before falling asleep. So Charlene, too, was unable to spe cifically account for Darren's whereabouts in the early af ternoon hours of August 16th or, for that matter, any other afternoon of that month.

  These days, computer technology captures every phone call we make or receive, and it would be possible to subpoena printouts that would show whether calls had been made to or from Darren and Charlene's apartment— as well as the exact times and the length of any conversa tions—around the times the rapes were being committed. But none of that was possible back in 1980.

  As Pope succeeded in chipping away at her testimony, Charlene's frustration grew visibly. Tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. When Pope drew from her a concession that her conclusion about Darren's never carry ing a knife was based purely upon the fact that she'd never seen him carrying one, she sobbed openly. At that point, Darren rose from his seat to move toward her, and Jay walker had to just about tackle him to hold him back. Moments later, evidently fearful that continuing might turn the jury against him, Pope announced that he had no further questions.

  Jaywalker's redirect examination was brief.

  JAYWALKER: Charlene, in response to Mr. Pope's questions, you indicated that you love your husband.

  CHARLENE: [Sobbing] Yes.

  JAYWALKER: And you indicated further that you'd do anything you could to help him. Is that correct? CHARLENE: Yes.

  JAYWALKER: Charlene, would you lie under oath to help your husband?

  CHARLENE: No.

  Looking back at the exchange, Jaywalker would find fault with his preparation of Charlene Kingston. Had he been able to put words in her mouth, he would have had her answer his final question differently. "I don't honestly know," would have been more effective, quickly followed up by, "All I can say is I'm telling you the truth." Or, "If I thought for a moment that my husband was the one who raped those women, not only wouldn't I lie for him, I'd be the first one in line to testify against him."

  Hindsight again. But hindsight that would become fore sight as Jaywalker would hone his trial skills over the years to come. For the moment, though, all he could do was thank Charlene for her testimony. By that time, she had to be helped from the witness stand by other members of Darren's family. Justice Davidoff called a recess for lunch.

  During his cross-examination of Delroid and Inez, Pope had established that Darren had an uncle living on Olmstead Avenue, just a few blocks from the Castle Hill Houses. Afraid that the jury might buy what was sure to be Pope's argument—that Darren had somehow used that location as a "base of operations" for the Castle Hill attacks—Jaywalker wanted to do what he could to dispel the notion. A phone call brought Samuel Kingston, whom Jaywalker now interviewed during the recess, down to court, along with Yvette Monroe.

  Jaywalker was having little trouble sticking to his nobreakfast, no-lunch diet.

  He put Samuel Kingston on the stand as the first witness of the afternoon session. Samuel identified himself as Darren's uncle and gave his address as 435 Olmstead Avenue, acknowledging that it was no more than three or four blocks from the buildings where Eleanor Cerami and Joanne Kenarden lived.

  JAYWALKER: When is the last time you can recall your nephew Darren coming over to your house?

  SAMUEL: About six years ago. And he only came there because his family did, for Thanksgiving din ner. He never visits us.

  JAYWALKER: Does he have a key to your house?

  SAMUEL: No.

  There was one other subject Jaywalker wanted to address with Darren's uncle.

  JAYWALKER: You work at night, don't you?

  SAMUEL: Yes.

  JAYWALKER: Do you happen to know where you were around noon on August sixteenth of last year? SAMUEL: Not definitely.

  JAYWALKER: Do you have any idea at all as to where you were?

  SAMUEL: Somewhere around the house. I know I was home. I'm home during the daytime.

  Pope asked no questions.

  Jaywalker called Yvette Monroe next. In contrast to the rest of Darren's family, Yvette was white. She was also young and pretty. At the time of the trial, she'd been in the country only four years, and her testimony bore a no ticeable French accent.

  Yvette identified herself to the jury as being the wife of another of Darren's uncles, making the defendant her nephew by marriage. Jaywalker needed to establish that she'd spent enough time around Darren that the mistaken identity incident would be meaningful to the jurors.

  JAYWALKER: How long have you known Darren?

  YVETTE: Since I came to this country, in nineteenseventy-six.