Judge Sam Mackelroy had just finished a tumbler of coffee and tossed it in the wastebasket...
He was heading towards the courtroom when he was accosted by a pretty young African-American girl..
"Judge Mackelroy?" she asked... It was Josie Boyd, Olivia and Beverly's Para-Legal, who was a few semesters shy of graduating from law school..
"YESSSSSS!" he said, smiling from ear to ear... ''And what can I do for you little lady?" he asked.
"Nothing....I was told to pass you this..." she said and she passed him a Subpeona.
She smiled and walked away...
"I'm being called as a material witness in this trial?? The Trial I am presiding over!! WHY THE NERVE?? THOSE LITTLE BASTARDS...THEY CAN'T DO THIS!!!!" he snarled.
"I'm afraid they can...They sited two cases in which it was done....and they cited enough compelling evidence that I'm going to have to ask you to recuse yourself from this trial...I'm taking over.." said a Black woman judge he recognized...
"Wilma, you can't do this.." said an enraged Sam...
"I'm afraid I have to." she said and passed him another document...
"This comes from the Judicial Board of Ethics...After you testify next week...They would like to talk to you....Sam, what have you gotten yourself into?" she asked..
"Ohhhhhh Nothing...Nothing!" he snarled and stormed off....Cutting Josie a nasty look as he passed by her and Attorney Beverly West..
"Another Happy Customer." laughed Josie..
"You better hope when you do become an Attorney you never have to practice in his courtroom."laughed Beverly..."Come on girl, let's get some lunch.."laughed Beverly as the two left the courthouse.
II-
The hot smell of coffee wafted through Gary's kitchen...
along with the sweet smell of bacon
and the smell of a made to order cheddar omelette with green peppers and onions...
Attorney Yvette Jones smiled.. Gary had cooked breakfast for her..
"Wow...I must have really put something on you last night for you to cook me breakfast." she laughed..
"You did baby!!! But I would have done this for you eventually anyway..." he said..
'Awwww" she said and rewarded him with a sweet kiss...
"I take it by now the good Judge has been handed a subpoena and a summons from the Board of Ethics.."laughed Gary...
"Yupper….He must have thought I was kidding..That I wasn't going to go to the Bard of Ethics...I asked him to just recuse himself...He refused...So now he's been forced off the bench in this trial and he's been called as a hostile defense witness.."
"Ouuuu I know he is thrilled with you....Who handed him the subpoena? Bee Bee, Sofia, Jade??"
asked Gary...
"None of them....He'd of seen them coming and possibly of run...No, I used Josie Boyd..."
said Yvette.
"Olivia's Josie?" asked Gary...
"Yes...He doesn't know her...She caught him by surprise..." said Yvette..
Gary laughed.....
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu he is through with you..." he laughed...
III-
We began our defense of our client..
I gave one of my more skillful and dramatic introductions and sumnations of the sequence of events that led to the murder of my cousin's girlfriend.. And I explained to the jury that my cousin was innocent and that there wasn't a shred of proof physical or otherwise that he was guilty and that his very arrest was a rush to judgement by Lt. Tragg ,who was eager to close a case after many misteps already ..
Lt. Tragg was livid....He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep...
He waited for Karen Page to return to her table at Curly's Bar last night...
She never returned..He checked the restroom and she was nowhere in sight!
She had given him the slip..He was furious about that and the way the trial was going..
My cousin looked at Kahlil..
"My Cousin is overdoing it a bit..wouldn't you say?" he said, laughing..
"He's saving your life buddy trust me.." said Kahlil, who smiled..
"Keith is killing it up there..." said Sofia..
"He's a natural born ham....and he's playing to the women...Look at them...Between him and his cousin, they don't know who to swoon over...."laughed Bee Bee..
"I know who you're swooning over."laughed Sofia.
"Yes lord...I can't wait until we recess....I'm going to pull him into the judges chambers.."laughed Bee Bee..
We called the Crime Scene Forensics people and the Medical Examiners people and the first responding police on the scene...They gave the same testimony they had given the week before..
They admitted that they had all gotten anonymous calls and that the room was unsettled and the door was locked when they arrived..
They all said that there wasn't one eyewitness or neighbor on the scene when they arrived..
They admitted that it was strange that they got the call so quick after the death..
ADA Joquin Spade was not having the leeway he had with Judge Mackelroy...
Judge Wilma Barrett was no nonsense and went by the letter of the law...She didn't hold with his many objections...and she didn't rule in his favor all the time either..
It felt good to have someone rule in our favor for a change..
After two days...
Sofia called Judge Sam Mackelroy to the stand..
He was furious that he even had to be called to the stand...Many of the jurors recognized him as the previous Judge presiding on this case.
She asked him if he owned the apartment across the street from Ms. Rubino's condo..
He asked what that had to do with anything..
"Answer the question "said the new Judge..
"Yes I do.."said the Judge..
Bee Bee showed him a photo of the deceased Connie Rubino...
"Did you know her?" asked Bee Bee..
''What?? NO!!!" snarled the Judge..
"Your honor, you're under oath..I'll ask you again. Do you know her?"said Kahlil...
He refused to answer...
I pulled in a 72 inch monitor...I turned it on...and on the screen was a photo of The Judge and the deceased Connie Rubino in Las Vegas at several restaurants, film footage taken by hotel and casino and restaurant cameras...
There was a photo of the Judge and Connie taken last summer in Martha's Vineyard, taken by some close friends..
Film Footage of the two in Atlantic City...
And a more telling photo of the two sharing an intimate kiss right here in Philadelphia taken on a street cam right outside her condo just a month before her death.
''Apparently...You do know her." I said.
"Ouuu Looks like you did know her quite well...."said Sofia.. She showed the jury our client's tax records...
"This is what my client's total income is for last year....No way he could afford to pay for that condo and for her hefty bill at the University of Pennsylvania... I graduated from there...I know it's high.."said Sofia..
The jury laughed...
"This your honor is your taxes...What you make....Including your Judge's salary and your prenup you are a millionaire....That condo and her education was nothing to you...We have no proof you were the one behind this Dummy account from the Caymen Islands....that paid for everything and that dried up one day after her death, but it sure looks snarky.."I added... I wasn't going to ask him if this was his account..I couldn't prove it..
"I knew her....I dated her...So what?" said the Judge, now in tears...
Bee Bee pulled out a suit.....His eyes got as wide as saucers...
"This is your suit....The one that was in that apartment...This is you throwing away what you thought was your suit and setting the trash can on fire." said Bee Bee, showing the jury photos.
"I think you bank rolled her...You met her and began dating her , sleeping with her...falling in love with her..You put her up in that nice but expensive condo....You paid for her education at IVY League Penn...You gave her everything she needed...but you didn't trust her...That's why you rented that apartment across the street...So you could watch her...And you saw her...With my client..a younger man...making love, yelling and screaming to the top of her lungs and you were in rage...You couldn't believe she had done that to you and you killed her...You might not have meant to...but you killed her...That's why you took over the trial...That's why you asked my boss to pull us off the case...That's why you went over her head to try to pull us...You wanted to make sure my client went to jail and make sure no mention of your involvement in this case ever came up...You wanted to avoid a day like this."I said.
"That's a nice story, but all it is ,is a story...A lot of circumstantial evidence..A lot of nothing." said Judge Mackelroy quietly...
ADA Joquin Spade gave a short sumnation....He was mostly out of gas and he looked as if he questioned Blake's guilt himself..
The Four of us was satisfied with our job....
"You guys did a great job in there of casting guilt on that Judge, but you just didn't have a smoking gun and he wouldn't admit to anything..."said Blake.
"Yeah I know...but I think we had a compelling story and I think the jury bought it.."said Kahlil..
IV-
TWO DAYS LATER-
Neither Ms. Yvette
or Jade had been at the trial...but they were both present for the reading of the verdict...
''Bailiff, hand me the verdict please" said Judge Wilma Barrett..
The four of us stood with our client....
ADA Spade, who hadn't lost a case up to this point also stood...He was stoic..
"WE THE JURY FIND BLAKE JONES, NOT GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE MURDER!!!" said the judge..
The jury was polled...All 12 said NOT GUILTY...
The case was over..
"Oh My God...Keith...Thank you....I am forever in your debt...Thank you all." said Blake.
"All in a days work." I said smiling..
"You're welcome Blake..,Don't mind your cousin, he was sweating bullets like the rest of us." said Bee Bee.
"I told you he was saving your life.."said Kahlil..
"That was close.." said Sofia..
"Good Job Guys."said Ms. Jade..
Judge Sam Mackelroy walked over to Yvette.
"Yvette, I trained you too well.." he said smiling.
"I suppose you did.." said Yvette. She wasn't smiling..
"This was about revenge for you wasn't it? You killed that girl and you made that call...You knew Blake Jones had been there and you knew he'd be a number one suspect....This was a win win for you wasn't it? You were angry, livid that she had betrayed you and you wanted him to pay for sleeping with your girl...That's why you moved mountains to get this trial didn't you? That's why you wanted my guys off of it...You saw that they were a little too good for ADA Spade..You wanted a green Attorney fresh out of law school...Someone you could manipulate and make sure he lost...so that Blake could go to prison...That would have made your revenge complete wouldn't it?" said Yvette.
"Yvette, Yvette, Yvette....Vettie remember when you were clerking for me as a young attorney what I taught you...remember?" said Sam Mackelroy...
"Yeah...you said it doesn't really matter if your client is innocent or guilty....All that really matters is which side has the best story..." she said.
"Good Girl...and your guys had the best story...You're doing a great job with them, They all are going to be fine Attorneys.....Just like you are...I'm actually proud of you....For what it's worth....You were my prize student!" he said.
Yvette looked at him..
''Who are you?" she asked in disbelief...
"I'm an old man Yvette!...An old fool who still likes young women.....Alas...it has cost me much...A marriage...Respect in the community...perhaps more...Goodbye Yvette....I'm sorry for all this..I hope one day you can forgive me and we can be friends again.... I understand, you did what you had to do. ." he said..
"You killed somebody....You took a life....That doesn't mean anything to you?" asked Yvette..
He smiled..
"Goodbye Yvette.." he said and walked away...
I walked up to her..
"You okay Ms. Yvette?" I asked.
She looked at me and
and Bee Bee
and Sofia
and Kahlil
and Jade...She smiled.
"You guys and what you did in that courtroom today are the only thing I feel good about..Good Job!"she said.
B.L. Benz of the syndicated TV show HARD BOTTOM Addressed the press
"Great Case...I am thankful to Attorneys Yvette Jones, Beatrice Evans, Sofia Garcia, Keith Jones and Kahlil Ahmed for allowing me to cover this case and I'm going to have them on my show next week and Blake Jones on my show "WRONGFULLY CONVICTED, my Podcast..."he said.
"You haven't had Lt. Tragg on your show lately" said one reporter...
"Yeah, now your show is watchable...Your ratings have actually gone up.." said another reporter.
"Come on Lou, that's not nice."said B.L.
"You oughta create a new show..."Wrongfully Arrested" said Lou..
The room erupted in laughter...
ADA Spade and ADA Karen Page burst into laughter..
B.L. couldn't help it...Even he laughed..
But Lt. Tragg wasn't laughing...He was livid..
"Lou...I've had it!" he said and ran into the sea of reporters who grabbed him and tried to restrain him...He was swinging and kicking and cursing something furious!
Several Uniformed Officers grabbed Lt. Tragg and dragged him outside...This time they were going to avoid the melee's that usually occur after one of these trials...
Ms Yvette watched the whole thing and sighed...
"You guys feel like a celebratory drink? It's on me." said Yvette, who didn't feel like drinking alone..
"Sure Ms. Yvette, you pick the place." said Bee Bee, who hugged her....
"Yeah and you're drinking free tonight., on us." I said. I hugged her also...
"Yeah" said Sofia. Sofia kissed Ms. Yvette on the cheek!
"You Down Jade?" asked Kahlil..
"I'm always down for a good time." Laughed Jade..
And we left and headed for a bar...
Nice end to a good case... Nice end to a Day Like This...A Crazy Day like this.
EPILOUGE-
Judge Sam Mackelroy was called before the Judicial Ethics Board to answer for his behavior during the Blake Trial...He was censored.. He resigned from the Bench ,rather than go through further review..but his troubles weren't over...
Lt. Sissy Van Buren and Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division re-opened the Rubino Murder case and did a thorough investigation...They arrested the Good Judge and charged him with First Degree Murder and Conspiracy...
ADA's Keith Wallace and Karen Page successfully prosecuted him and convicted him on both counts...He was Disbarred and Sentenced to 25- Life in prison...A sad end for such a distinguished juror..
Midnight...
The doorbell at Gary Lockwood's house rang...
He came to the door in his bathrobe...He smiled.
"Vettie...I didn't think you were coming over tonight...but I'm glad you did..come in." he said.
Yvette smiled and fell into his arms..
"You've been drinking." he said.
"See...That's why you were such a good detective and such a valued Investigator at the D.A.'s office."said Yvette..who laughed...She was a bit tipsy...
He hugged her and took his foot and closed the door..
"The Kids won their case " he said.
"They did!!!...Today I lost an old friend...A man I admired so much..A Man who helped mold me into the Attorney I am...I-I-I wonder if he ever meant any of that stuff he taught me." said Yvette.
"Maybe he did then when he was teaching you...He was a different person then....People change over time Vettie..Things happen..."said Gary.
"Or maybe that's who he is....Maybe he just hid it from a shy and unsure young girl, who was so eager to learn..." said Yvette..
"Yeah Maybe...Who knows?" said Gary, still hugging her..
She ran her hands inside his blue floor length robe....Her eyes got as wide as saucers...
"GARY?? Why don't you ever wear pajamas underneath this robe or some boxers or something..?Oh my god!" she exclaimed..
"Cause I knew you'd be coming." he said, laughing raffishly..
"You didn't know that..."said Yvette..
He kissed her passionately and dimmed the lights...
"No I didn't...but I'm glad you did....Imagine if you had been Rockland" he said..
He and Yvette busted out laughing...
She took him by the hand and walked him to his bedroom...They kissed passionately in the doorway..
He unzippered her dress and took it off, His bathrobe fell to the floor...
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