“I feel like shit,” Michael groaned. It was halfway into the fifteen-minute recess the judge had granted at his request. In the privacy of the courthouse’s lawyers’ lounge, Maggie touched the underside of her wrist to his forehead.
“You look like shit. Your eyes are all glassy and you’re warm,” she said, shaking her head. “You should be home in bed. Ask for a continuance.”
That morning he’d come to the office with a slight headache which he had ignored. Now his head seemed ready to explode and he felt both cold and hot at the same time. His body ached and he felt shaky.
“I don’t want to do that. This little shit has taken up enough of my time. Our time.” In the eighteen months that Maggie had been with Murphy, Rannigan, this was the third time Nathan Menzel, errant son of Councilman Robert Menzel, had been arrested for criminal stupidity. The last time, the charge had been trespassing and mischief at the home of a former girlfriend. This was his second DUI arrest and this time, Nathan had upped the ante with a bottle containing oxy discovered in the console of his luxury SUV.
“Well what do you want to do?” she asked. “You still need to finish up with Padgett.” Michael had just begun questioning Officer Charles Padgett, the arresting officer in Nathan’s latest stunt.
“Let’s just get this thing done,” he said. “The sooner we finish, the sooner I can go home and pass out.”
Maggie looked at him doubtfully. “Whatever you say.”
Back in the courtroom, Maggie sat in her place beside their young client at the defense table. She and Michael were a duo this time, Dan being on vacation. Michael approached Officer Padget who was seated on the witness stand. Maggie’s former mentor Rance Stockwell, the prosecutor in this case, sat at the table across the aisle.
“You’ve testified that you pulled over a car driven by the defendant, Nathan Menzel, on the night of May 3, is that correct?” Michael asked.
“Yeah,” the policeman answered.
Michael paused and cleared his throat, leaning shakily on the railing of the witness box, his head down. Looking up he murmured, “Just a moment, Your Honor.” Then he slowly made his way back to the defense table where he sank into his chair.
“I can’t do this, Mags. I can’t even stand.”
Maggie looked at him anxiously. “What are we going to do?”
“You take it,” he said. “You know this case inside and out.”
She stared at him, aghast. “I can’t! I’m not prepared. They’re expecting you.”
“What the fuck, Michael?” Nathan demanded. “I don’t want some chick holding my life in her hands.”
Michael’s eyes cut quickly to his client. “Shut up, Nathan.” He looked back at Maggie. “You’ve got this, Mags,” he said fervently. “I believe in you.”
Maggie was aware of anxious shifting in the seats directly behind the defense table but she refused to look at Nathan’s family.
“Mr. Rannigan?” the judge asked. “May we continue?”
Michael leaned on the table and pushed himself up. “Your Honor, I’m suddenly feeling unwell. My associate, Ms. Flynn, will be taking over for me.”
“Noted. Does the Prosecution have any objections?”
“None, Your Honor,” declared Rance.
“You may proceed, Ms. Flynn,” Judge
On the witness stand, Officer Padgett smirked. Maggie straightened herself, took a deep breath, and slowly approached the witness stand. “Officer Padgett, on the night of May 3 of this year, you pulled over a car driven by the defendant Nathan Menzel, is that correct?”
“Why yes, Ms. Flynn, I did. Just like I told your boss.” He snickered as did several others in the courtroom. Maggie turned toward the courtroom frantically seeking Michael’s eyes.
“It’s okay,” he mouthed, nodding firmly.
“And can you tell us exactly why you pulled him over?”
“Well, like I said,” speaking carefully, as though to a slow child, “I pulled over Mr. Menzel because he was speeding.”
“How did you know he was speeding?” she asked pointedly.
“I read the number on the radar gun,” he answered.
“Would this be the same radar gun that was shown to be inaccurate?” Padgett sat up straighter. “Yeah, it’s inaccurate, but I just know to add about fifteen miles per hour to what the display shows.”
Maggie smiled a bit and turned toward the jury. “So you just know to add the extra fifteen. Are you sure it’s fifteen? Could it be twenty? Could it be five? How do you know you don’t need to subtract?”
“Well, I just always...” Padgett began.
“Objection, Your Honor,” Rance said, not bothering to stand.
“Sustained. Move on, Ms. Flynn.”
Maggie picked up a piece of paper from the table in front of Michael. He watched her intently, a hint of a satisfied smile playing on his lips. “Officer Padgett, do you recall January 15 of this year?”
Padgett’s smirk was back. “I don’t know Ms. Flynn, that was a long time ago. Could be I had a date that night.” He snickered again.
Maggie glanced up at the Judge. “Officer Padgett, you will answer the questions of counsel,” the judge admonished.
Padgett sat up and crossed his arms. “Like I said, counselor, I don’t know.”
Maggie gave him a thin smile and held up the paper. “I can help you out. On January 15, you received disciplinary action for violating the civil rights of one Mr. Jose Santos. You spent a week off unpaid. Do you recall that now?” The courtroom was still.
“I guess,” he reluctantly answered.
“How about the February before that?” She held up the list again. “Or the previous September, or the March before that?”
Maggie walked toward the jury box, smiling at them in a friendly way. “I’m new at this. Just graduated with my law degree less than two years ago. I’ve never had disciplinary action taken against me.” She glanced back at Padgett. “But I imagine if I ever did, I’d remember the date. I imagine it would stand out in my mind,” shrugging, “unless, of course, it happened so often I just couldn’t keep up.”
Rance stood behind the prosecutor’s table. “Objection, Your Honor. Counsel isn’t allowing the witness to answer.”
“Sustained. You’ve made your point, Ms. Flynn. Ask a question or excuse the witness.”
Glancing back at the defense table where Michael watched her with a proud sparkle in his eyes, Maggie returned to the witness. “Can you irrefutably prove that on the night of May 3, you had adequate probable cause to pull over the defendant, Nathan Menzel and were therefore constitutionally entitled to search his car?”
Padgett leaned forward red-faced, veins bulging in his neck. “I can assure you that on May 3, or any other day, I did my job,” he snarled.
“Officer Padgett, you have a history of skirting procedure to do your job.” Maggie waved the document in her hand. “I suggest that you pulled over Mr. Menzel without probable cause and proceeded to violate his constitutional rights by subjecting him to illegal search and seizure. Anything you may or may not have found after that is inadmissible. It’s like it never happened.”
“Objection!” Rance shouted.
“Withdrawn,” Maggie said blithely.
Following the verdict, Rance stepped across the aisle, offering his hand to Maggie. “Nice job, rookie,” he smiled. “You kicked my ass today.”
Maggie blushed. “I don’t know. Your witness was shady, that’s all.”
“Any time you get tired of working for the bad guys, let me know,” he said. To Michael, “I may poach her from you yet.”
Michael and Maggie stepped out into the crisp fall day. Councilman Menzel and Nathan joined them at the top of the courthouse steps. A throng of media surrounded them immediately.
“Ms. Flynn, do you feel justice was served today?” asked a reporter. Maggie looked to Michael uncertainly. He nodded encouragingly.
“Law enforcement is a dangerous and often thankless job. It’s their duty to keep us all safe. That being said, everyone in this country is entitled to basic civil rights which can’t be circumvented in the name of protecting the public. Today’s decision is a reminder that procedure must always be followed.”
“Okay, Mags,” Michael said in her ear, “get me in a cab before I fall down.”