Zach went up to one of the deputies I recognized from my visits to the jail and told him about Mr. Fussleman. The deputy motioned to Moses.
'You can talk to him at the end of the row,' the deputy said. 'But you'd better make it quick. The judge will be here in a minute, and he'll want everyone in their places.'
'Get Fussleman,' Zach told me. 'I'll tell Moses what we're trying to do.'
I brought Mr. Fussleman over. Zach was whispering into Moses' ear.
'What dock be yours?' Moses asked Fussleman.
'The one with the blue and white boat.'
Moses nodded. 'Yes sir. That's a mighty nice piece of boat.'
'Thank you.'
'Moses, are you sorry that you used Mr. Fussleman's dock without permission?' Zach asked the old man.
Moses looked at Zach then Mr. Fussleman. 'I didn't use nobody's dock except as a place to put a piece of cotton rope. I'm sorry that the policemans put me in jail and lock me and my boat up. That's what makes my heart cry in the night.'
'Moses doesn't believe the river belongs to anyone,' I said, 'but he's agreed not to tie up at private docks without permission in the future, right?'
I held my breath for a second, hoping Moses wouldn't back down on his promise.
'That be right, missy.'
'And Mr. Fussleman might be willing to let you tie up if you ask his permission in advance before eleven o'clock at night,' I added.
Moses looked at Mr. Fussleman. 'That's mighty nice of you, boss man. You let Moses know, and I'll clean that blue and white boat for free and scrub your dock. And you know that yellow line at the edge, the one that be going away fast? I paint it for you.'
Mr. Fussleman shook Moses' hand. 'Come by when you get out of jail, and we'll talk about it.' The dock owner turned to me. 'This man doesn't need to be locked up. I'll testify if you need me.'
'All rise!' announced one of the bailiffs on duty. 'The Superior Court of Chatham County is now in session, the Honorable Clifton Cannon presiding.'
The judge, an older, white-haired man, sat down without looking in the direction of the lawyers.
'Be seated!' the bailiff called out.
The judge turned toward the DAs table. 'Ms. Smith, are you ready?'
'Yes, Your Honor.'
'Let's hear pleas first, reserving the motion to suppress in State v. Robinson to the end of the calendar.'
'Yes sir, we have twenty-six cases here for arraignment. Based on the discussions with counsel, several of those intend to plead guilty.'
I licked my lips. There was less than a five percent chance that Moses' case would be the first one called. I desperately wanted to watch a few experienced lawyers navigate the waters before I was thrown in. I leaned close to Zach.
'What if we're first?'
'Then I'll be back to the office in time to get some work done.'
It was an unsympathetic answer. Ms. Smith picked up a file from her stack.
'State v. Jones,' she called out.
Zach stood up. I was so shocked that I didn't move.
'Come on,' Zach said.
I got to my feet and stepped into the open area in front of the judge. A deputy culled Moses from the rest of the prisoners and brought him to stand beside me.
'Your Honor, I'm Zach Mays, and this is Ms. Tami Taylor, a summer clerk with our firm,' Zach said. 'You appointed Ms. Taylor to represent Mr. Jones, and the firm asked me to supervise her work on the case.'
Judge Cannon had bushy white eyebrows. He brought them together and glared at me. Ms. Smith spoke.
'Mr. Jones is charged with twenty-five counts of trespassing by tying up his boat at private docks on the Little Ogeechee River.'
'I believe it's twenty-four counts,' I corrected.
'A difference without a distinction,' the judge grunted. 'How does he plead?'
I looked at Zach.
'Mr. Mays is not your client,' the judge barked at me.
'Uh, Your Honor, Mr. Jones has been in jail for over two months, and we would like to enter a guilty plea as long as he is released for time served followed by a one-year period of supervised probation.'
Moses' voice startled me. 'My boat, missy. Don't be forgetting.'
'Yes sir. His boat was seized, and he would like it back.'
'Ms. Taylor, you do not enter into plea negotiations with me while I'm sitting on the bench trying to work my way through a crowded calendar.'
'Yes sir. We talked to Ms. Smith,' I responded quickly. 'She has no objection to my proposal.'
'Is that right?' the judge asked the assistant DA.
'We will leave the sentence to Your Honor's discretion but do not oppose defense counsel's suggestion.'
'Was there any physical damage to property warranting restitution?' the judge asked.
'No sir,' I replied. 'And one of the dock owners, Mr. William Fussleman, is present and willing to testify in favor of the proposed plea.'
I pointed in the direction of Mr. Fussleman, who stood up.
'That won't be necessary,' the judge said. 'Mr. Jones?'
Moses looked up.
'Are you Moses Jones?' the judge repeated.
'That be me.'
'Are you aware of the charges against you?'
'Yes sir.'
The judge looked down at the papers before him. 'Did you illegally tie up your boat at these docks without permission of the owners?'
'I just be stopping by for a while to get some sleep. I don't hurt no one or nothing.'
'Counsel, will you agree your client's statement is the equivalent of an affirmative answer?' the judge asked me.
'Yes sir.'
'Mr. Jones, do you realize that I do not have to accept your lawyer's suggestion about releasing you from jail and could sentence you to twenty-four one-year sentences to run consecutively, said sentences to be served in the Georgia State Penitentiary?'
Moses stared at the judge without a hint of understanding in his eyes.
'Your Honor,' I began. 'I explained-'
'I wish I had more time for you to practice being a lawyer, Ms. Taylor, but I don't. I'm not going to accept your recommendation for sentence. Mr. Jones has demonstrated a repeated and callous disregard for the property of others, and I have no confidence he will modify his conduct in the future. If he wants to plead guilty, I will refer him for a presentence investigation, then sentence him in a way I deem appropriate. If that is acceptable we'll proceed. Otherwise, you may withdraw your offer of a guilty plea.'
I turned to Zach in panic and whispered, 'What do I do?'
Zach spoke. 'Your Honor, we withdraw the plea.'
'Very well. Have him enter his not-guilty plea on the accusation.'
Ms. Smith pushed a piece of paper in front of me and pointed to a place beneath the words 'Not Guilty.' Moses scrawled his name in the space provided. It was the same signature I'd seen at the bottom of the confession. The deputy led Moses back to the group of prisoners. When I turned away, Vince, a look of genuine sympathy on his face, caught my eye.
'State v. Brown,' Ms. Smith called out.
Vince and Russell stood. Zach and I passed them as we walked down the aisle. Mr. Fussleman joined us. The three of us returned to the hallway.
