irrelevant, sitting next to Townsend with the other observers. I
couldn't help but wonder how much he was charging.
I wheeled my chair toward Slip. 'You subpoenaed Caffrey, huh? I
assume you know that he'll move to quash.'
'His lawyer wants to wait until I actually call Caffrey to the stand.
He's probably making sure it's not a bluff. I told him I'd call him
when you were done presenting your evidence, so they wouldn't have to
wait.'
'Hate to break it to you, Slip, but I doubt your courtesy's going to be
enough to win Ronald Fish over.'
'I'm a good guy. What can I say?'
Prescott took the bench and called the case. Every other judge in the
county lets the prosecutor call the case, and we do it in about five
seconds flat, the words so routine that the court reporter has no
problems keeping up with the pace. But Prescott treated even this
routine function like a constitutional moment.
When she was finally done, it was my turn for a quick opening
statement.
'Thank you, your honor. Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid for
the state. As your honor is well aware, the only question here is
whether the state has sufficient evidence to hold the defendant over
for trial on the pending Aggravated Murder charge. The ultimate
decision regarding the defendant's guilt must be made by the jury at
trial, and the jury is entitled to make its own determinations about
credibility. Accordingly, the standard for today's hearing requires
the court to credit as true all testimony that benefits the state, and
to discredit any contradictory evidence from the defense, even if that
would not be your own assessment of the evidence were you to sit in
this case as a juror.'
I went ahead and cited the controlling cases for good measure. I would
never spell out the governing law as thoroughly for a more experienced
judge, but Prescott was still learning the basics of criminal law. The
last thing I needed was for her to substitute her own opinion for the
jury's because I forgot to cover Criminal Procedure 101.
I gave a brief outline of the critical evidence and then called Ray
Johnson to the stand.
Ray looked dapper, as usual, in a lavender dress shirt and black
three-button suit. Half that man's salary must go to the Saks men's
department. He had removed the diamond stud from his ear for his
testimony. Good call, given Prescott's transition from a corporate
culture.
We covered the evidence quickly despite our judicial assignment. I
wasn't asking any questions that were objectionable, so there was no
reason for Prescott to get involved.
In straightforward question and answer format, Johnson and I covered
the critical points: Jackson's pending case, the letters he'd written
to Clarissa, the paint on Griffey and in Jackson's van, his employment
at the site where the body had been located, his statements, and the
weapon. My criminologist would cover the fingerprint and blood
evidence. It was more than enough.
I had decided to keep it simple. Since we weren't alleging a sexual
assault as part of the charges, getting into the nonoxynol-9 and the
ME's opinion that Clarissa had been undressed when she was killed would
only muck it up. If Slip chose to get into those complications, he ran
the risk of making his client look like a rapist and not just a
murderer. Down the road, I'd have to worry about a jury thinking that
Clarissa's nudity was inconsistent with Jackson's motivation of
revenge. But even a judge as inexperienced as Prescott knew that rape
was about exercising power over the victim, not sex.
I wasn't surprised when Slip chose to cross. One of the only benefits
to the defense of a prelim is the chance to test the state's case and
its witnesses in advance of trial. Here, Slip could risk asking
Johnson questions that might backfire if asked for the first time at
trial in front of the jury. Some judges would cut off a prelim fishing
expedition at the start, but I knew Prescott would give Slip some
line.
'Good afternoon, Detective Johnson. My name is Graham Szlipkowsky, and
I represent Mr. Jackson.'
It sounded funny to hear Slip pronounce his full name. It had been a
couple of years since we'd had a formal hearing together.
'You arrested my client late on Tuesday night, is that right?'
'That's correct. Technically, it was Wednesday morning.'
'When you woke up on Tuesday morning, did you believe that my client
killed Clarissa Easterbrook?'
'I believed it was a possibility, yes.'
Johnson was wasting his witness skills. He's a master of spin, which
helps in front of a jury. In a bench hearing, it was better to cut
through the crap.
