Barely Legal

65

Stone Barrington arrived at court to find Herbie there already.

“Are you all right?” Stone said.

“No, but I managed to tie my tie. This morning I’m a nervous wreck.”

“I can take the cross.”

“What does it matter? If I don’t dump the case, they’ll kill my dead girlfriend.”

“Dino told me. He’s on it. We need to concentrate on winning this case.”

“Are you saying I can’t?”

“I’m sure you can if you’re not inhibited by an empty threat.”

The jurors were led in. It was clear from their posture that most of them had either read or heard of the story in the Post. Before the witness was returned to the stand, Stone Barrington stood up to address the court.

“Your Honor, I have a motion that should be made in chambers.”

Judge Buckingham glared down at the defense table. “We have already wasted a full day of the court’s time. I think we should proceed.”

Stone Barrington’s eyes twinkled. “Would you like me to make this motion in open court, Your Honor?”

Judge Buckingham could not think of a proper rebuke. “Attorneys. In my chambers,” he snapped, and slammed the gavel down.

When they were all assembled in chambers, Judge Buckingham said, “What is it now?”

“Your Honor,” Stone said, “the New York Post has a front-page story saying that Mr. Fisher’s girlfriend has been murdered, and that he is being questioned as a suspect in the crime. Under the circumstances, you can hardly expect the jurors to render a fair and impartial verdict in this case. I ask you to declare a mistrial, dismiss the jury, and postpone proceedings until we can impanel an impartial jury.”

“I had a feeling that was the motion you were about to make. The jurors have been instructed not to read or listen to any news stories relating to the crime. There is no reason to suppose that they have disobeyed the court’s order. The motion is denied.”

“The jurors wouldn’t know this article had any bearing on the case until they read it, Your Honor. At which point the harm would be done.”

“The only way to tell would be to question the jurors. If they didn’t know before, they’d know then. I’m not going to deliberately create a mistrial. I have already denied your motion. If you persist in pursuing this, you will be in contempt of court.”

Judge Buckingham turned on his heel and strode from chambers.

“What do we do now?” Herbie said.

“Relax,” Stone said. “I’ll take the cross.”

When the lawyers were back in court and Detective Kelly had been returned to the stand, Judge Buckingham said, “Does the defense have any further questions for this witness?”

Stone stood up. “The defense does, Your Honor.”

In the back of the courtroom, a tough-looking thug got up and walked out.