“His opening statement. He didn’t have to finish it. He let Fitzpatrick’s objection do it for him. He knew Fitzpatrick would object, and he knew how the judge was going to rule, and he knew how the jury would respond. He
Judge Graves turned to Fitzpatrick. “Does the defense wish to make an opening statement?”
Fitzpatrick rose. “We will reserve our opening statement until we begin putting on our case.”
“Very well. Mr. Dirkson, is the prosecution ready to proceed?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Very well. It is approaching the hour for noon recess. I am going to excuse the jury and adjourn for lunch, and we’ll resume at two o’clock.”
26
For his first witness, Dirkson called Police Officer Frank Sullivan, who stated his name and cited his eighteen years of duty on the force.
“Now, Officer Sullivan, were you on duty on the ninth day of October.”
“I was.”
“And what was your duty on that day?”
“I was on radio patrol.”
“In what vehicle?”
“In a marked police car.”
“And did you have a partner at that time?”
“Yes I did.”
“And who was your partner?”
“Officer Sanford Hill.”
“Directing your attention to the address 249 East 3rd Street, did you receive any instructions regarding that address?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Could you tell us what happened, please?”
“Yes. We got a call on the police radio reporting an altercation at that address.”
“Can you tell us what time you got that call?”
“I do not recall the exact time, but I wrote it in my notebook.”
“Would looking at your notebook refresh your recollection on that matter?”
“Yes, it would.”
“Would you please do so?”
Officer Sullivan took out his notebook and flipped through the pages. “Yes, sir. The call came in at 5:42 P.M.”
“And what did you do?”
“My partner and I proceeded to that address.”
“What time did you get there?”
“Approximately five minutes later.”
“That would be 5:47?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And what did you find when you got there?”
“The downstairs door was open and we went in.”
“Did you hear the sounds of an altercation.”
“No, sir. We did not.”
“What did you do then?”
“We went up the stairs to apartment 2A.”
“And what did you find?”
“We found the body of a man lying on the floor. He had been stabbed in the back with a knife.”
“What did you do then?”
“We radioed for Emergency Medical Services, and radioed to report a possible homicide.”
“Thank you, officer. Your witness.”
As Dirkson sat down, Fitzpatrick got ponderously to his feet. Steve Winslow smiled. This really was going to be a battle of the giants. Steve watched Fitzpatrick with some interest, wondering what tack the attorney was going to take. Fitzpatrick smiled and approached the witness. “Officer Sullivan,” he said. “I believe you stated that you have been a police officer for eighteen years?”
“That’s right.”
“During the course of that time, have you ever been called upon to testify in a court of law?”
“Yes, sir. I have.”
“On how many occasions?”
“I can’t recall, sir.”
“Approximately.”
“Say fifty to a hundred times.”
“I see. Now in this particular case, I notice several glaring gaps in your testimony.”
“Objection, Your Honor.”
“Sustained.”
“Well, let’s discuss your testimony. You say you got a radio call, requesting you to proceed to 249 East 3rd Street?”
“That’s right.”
“The downstairs door was open and you went in?”
“That’s right.”
“Now, when you got to the door to 2A, the apartment of the deceased, what happened?”
“I knocked on the door.”
“And what happened?”
“A voice said ‘Come in.’”
Fitzpatrick raised his eyebrows. “A
“Yes. A man’s voice.”
“A man’s voice. How interesting? You didn’t mention this on direct examination.”
“I wasn’t asked.”
“No, you weren’t, were you, Officer Sullivan? So a man’s voice said, ‘Come in,’ and what did you do then?”
“I opened the door and went in.”
“The door was unlocked?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s mighty interesting too. And when you got into the apartment, did you by any chance encounter the owner of this voice, the man who said, ‘Come in’?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And where was he?”
“Seated on the couch.”
“The living room couch?”
“Yes.”
“That is the same room in which you found the body of the deceased?”
“That’s right.”
“So, if I understand it correctly, when you entered the apartment, you found two people, a dead man lying on the floor, and a live man, sitting on the couch. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir.”
