Pre-emptive Strikes

 THE LEGAL ETHICS BOARD MEETING-

"Not a place  any attorney ever wants to find themselves ." said Former ADA Billie Lawrence, Now Practicing Attorney and Law School Proffessor  facing Murder charges among other things.

"I agree..but we have to air this out...I figure if we bring this to them first without them having to find out and I present your side of the story, which I am certain I can..You won't have to worry about being censured or disbarred..I strongly doubt you'll be disbarred." said Yvette.

"You know Yvette...We've been adversaries in court...You and Olivia...and we've had some great legal battles...I've cherished them...I actually learned from them...I always considered you a worthy opponent..but now....Now I- I consider you a friend...I hope you can consider me a friend too." said Billie.

"Of course I can "said Yvette, rubbing her arm..

Neither woman realized they were being photographed.

and a call was being made.

"Hello Lieutenant...Jones and Lawrence are at some Legal Ethics Board meeting...A lot of big shot Judges and Attorneys are here..

Some catering company just brought a huge spread of cold cuts and drinks in..

"I can't get inside...I don't know what they are talkin about in there." said the man, a plain clothes cop.

"Good Job Hank , Keep an eye on him." said Lt. Tragg.

II-

The meeting was getting ready to start... It wouldn't have been possible if not for what 

Ms Jade Uncovered and a meeting my wife, Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil and I had a reluctant witness

just TWO DAYS BEFORE-

The condo Douglas Hellerman shared with his now imprisoned wife was very nice...One of the nicest I had ever been in..

Douglas Hellerman , a very astute and handsome man, who also served on the Utilities Commision. sat in the living room, smiling, astounded by the four young attorneys sitting with him..

"Can I offer you anything? Coffee, Tea?" he asked..

"Coffee please? " said Bee Bee, "Guys?" she asked.

"Yes,please." I said.

"Yes Please." said Kahlil..

"Please, thank you." said Sofia.

Five cups of coffee was poured and passed to us...

"Now let me uh get this straight...You four attorneys are from McCluskey/Cozen/Connor & Pratt, huh?

Wowwwwww. How far you have come...You guys are young, you don't look like you've been out of law school any more than three years....Am I correct? And you're working at a firm like that...You guys must have had killer resume's..." he laughed.

He wanted to make small talk, but I cut right to the chase...

"Mr. Heller We are here because we know that just as our client, Billie Lawrence was being blackmailed...You also were being blackmailed by Louis Gant.. We need you to testify that you and she entered  an intimate relationship without her knowing that you were in fact the husband of the woman she was prosecuting and that she did not know who you were at the time..." I said.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about...I don't know Ms. Lawrence at all." he said.

Bee Bee produced credit card receipts from the many flower shops and from bars , restauraunts and a local play...

"These are all from you...They are signed Doug Heller....but we have a handwriting expert and a copy of your other credit card receipts,checks and documents signed by who you really are...Douglas Hellerman who will swear that this is a match...That these are matches...We have three experts...One a Former FBI agent." she said.

His face grew pale....He began to sweat....

Sofia pulled out huge glossies..

Photos of Him and Billie Lawrence making love in several positions...

These are the photos sent to Ms. Lawrence by the late Mr. Gant...He was asking for 150K in cash , for Ms. Lawrence to show favorable treatment to a student , who was the son of a friend of his and for sexual favors..She refused on all three accounts... We have phone records here of calls from his cell phone to your number at work and your cell phone and two to your home phone..just days before somebody killed him...Apparently he was dead before you could make a payment.."said Sofia.

We are going to try to supress all of this at our clients trial..but we need you to speak up for her when she goes before the Legal Ethics Board in two days...It's the least you can do."said Kahlil...

"You have me over a barrel...Did you ever get the negatives ?" he asked.

"The Assistant District Attorney has the negatives...but I promise you ,we will do all we can to supress this and keep it from coming out in the trial...We are pretty sure our client did not kill Mr. Gant."I said.

"Who do you think Killed Mr. Gant...IT WASN'T ME!" he added..

''We can't even speculate at this point."said Bee Bee.

III-

The meeting began...

Yvette began her argument.. She said that she and her client thought that they should bring this to the board rather than for it to come out and they have to deal with it..

Her argument was simply that while serving as Assistant District Attorney, 

Billie Lawrence was prosecuting one, Susan Hellerman

She was an official at the Philadelphia Housing Authority... Who was charged by a court summons with allegedly possessing and accessing electronic devices used to intercept private conversations of housing authority employees in the main office.

During her prosecution of the case she became romantically involved with a man who called himself Douglas Heller. Douglas Heller was a businessman she had met shortly after the start of the trial...He had wined her and dined her and taken her to a play and a jazz concert..Sent flowers to her office everyday and soon wound up sharing a bed with her... What she didn't know was that Doug Heller was actually Douglas Hellerman, the estranged husband of the woman she was prosecuting..

Billie Lawrence testified that she had no idea that Doug Heller was the estranged husband of the woman she was prosecuting..and that had she known, she would have never entered into a sexual and emotional relationship with him..

The Board asked her if she was ever asked anything about the state of the case , she replied that she wasn't...

"He never asked me about my work." she said.

"Did he know who you were?"she was asked.

"Oh I'm sure he did..." she replied..

"How did the case conclude?" she was asked.

"His wife was convicted, sentenced to 1-3 years in County lockup...She appealed her conviction and lost...She's presently in Women's County Correctional Facility.." said Billie.

Yvette produced Credit Card Receipts and Checks with both the Douglas Heller signature and the Doug Hellerman signature.. Flower orders, Restaurant receipts, A Play receipt, Bar Receipt. She produced three fingerprint experts who said that both signatures were by the same man...Douglas Hellerman.

She produced the glossies taken by the blackmailer Billie is accused of murdering , Louis Gant of the two of them in bed...and a demand for 150K in cash, for her to show favorablility to the son of a friend who was attending the law school she taught at and future sexual favors.. 

"My client is a woman of integrity...She refuses his scurillous offers and some days later, someone pumped three bullets into Mr. Gant....but not my client." said Ms. Yvette.

To both women's surprise...Douglass Hellerman showed up..

"I am Douglass S. Hellerman" he said.

He admitted that he entered into an intimate sexual relationship with ADA Billie Lawrence.. He said that he knew who she was , when he approached her...He admitted keeping his true identity a secret because he knew if she had know that he was married and also married to the woman she was prosecuting she would have never given him the time of day..

The Ethics Board asked him if he asked her for any favors toward his wife during the trial..

He said that he never mentioned her at all the entire time they were together..

When asked why he began a relationship with her , he replied.

"She's a good looking woman. I was seperated from my wife.. I was lonely ,I was horny.." 

This was met with raucous laughter.

This was better than Yvette

and Billie could have hoped for.

III-

"I certainly didn't expect to see you guys here.."said Ms. Yvette.

"Me neither...but I am grateful..You guys did a great job.." said Billie Lawrence.

"We thought we'd come down and show you guys some moral support.." said Bee Bee.

"Yeah..Even we were surprised that Doug Hellerman came down here."said Sofia.

"It was the least he could do." I said.

"Yeah the least."said Kahlil..

''Well now, we wait on their ruling...It's the least we can do." said Jade , who was sitting with us..

A Plain Clothes Cop made a call...

''Boss, I found out what this is...It's The Legal Ethics Board...Yvette Jones argued Billie Lawrence's case before the board that she entered into a relationship with this guy, not knowing who he really was..

Hellerman showed up himself and testified as much...Seems the guy just wanted to get laid...He said if he had told her who he was, she would've never given him the time of day." he said.

"Ohhhh I get it..This was a uh ruh Pre-Emptive Strike on Yvette's part..To keep Billie from being disbarred for ethics violations...It doesn't matter..She'll still be disbarred once she's convicted of first degree murder....HAHAHAHAHAHA! But I do understand why Yvette and crew did this."said Lt. Tragg.

"All of em are here, Keith Jones, Beatrice Jones, Sofia Garcia -Ahmed and Kahlil Ahmed.. Jade Lee is here too." said the plain clothes cop.

"Figures.. Hang around..Let me know how they rule." said Lt. Tragg...

"Sure thing Boss." said the Plain Clothes Cop.

Yvette thought back to the last time she was here..Several years ago with her very best friend, Olivia Bennett-Alexander.

She was arguing for the re-instatement of Former ADA Soloman Foster to the Bar.. He had been convicted of giving information to a drug kingpin....He was fired from the D.A.'s office and sentenced to 1-5 years in Prison.

He served two years and was granted a parole.. Olivia was brilliant in her argument and got Soloman re-instated to the Bar...before he came home from prison...Today , he is a practicing Attorney in Private Practice.

She had talked to her neighbor, Attorney Charles "Chip" Burrows , who had defended his former girlfriend , Jasmine Coley

in a very difficult case when she herself was facing disbarment... He won his case and she is still practicing law to this day...

Now here she was ,arguing a case before this board.. This was a board, no working attorney wanted to be in front of  or arguing a case before..

Former Judge Jetty Dukes, who was the only Black member of the board and the only member she knew came to the door..

"Ms. Yvette...We've ruled..you can all come in now." he said, looking at her salaciously and smiling..

"Lawd girl, you sure have uh filled out...Is it true you married now?" he asked.

"Yes Jetty..I am married.." sighed Ms. Yvette..

"Well if uh things go sideways and you uh need someone to talk to...My line is always open..you know..

Ummmph ,ummmph, ummmph.." he said..

"You won't live that long." Ms. Yvette said under her breath...

Bee Bee Heard it...She cracked up laughing..

So did Sofia...

and Jade.

IV-

"After hearing your well prepared argument and the testimonies of all involved..We see no breach of ethics or wrongdoing on the part of Ms. Billie Lawrence." they said..

"WHOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEE! We did it Ms. Yvette....I-I mean you did it..!" said Bee Bee..

''No you were right..WE DID IT! I couldn't have done this without the five of you..."said Ms. Yvette.

"YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!" said Sofia...

Judge Jetty Dukes made sure he hugged Bee Bee, Ms. Yvette and Sofia much longer than they felt comfortable getting..

"Ummmmmmmmph Ummmmmmmmm!" he moaned... "Damn these is fine women...LAWD!" he said.

He then looked at Kahlil and me and smiled sheepishly...

"Get some of these Cold cuts...Make your self some sandwiches...There is plenty of food here." he said.

I looked at that huge spread ...

"NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN BOUT!!!" I said.

"Yeah man, pass me some mustard Home Slice." said Kahlil..

Jade laughed hysterically....

Billie Lawrence sighed a sigh of relief..

"I can sleep a little better tonight...If I'm not convicted of First Degree Murder, I won't be disbarred, I have my life back...Whewwwwww thank you Yvette, Bee Bee, Sofia, Keith ,Kahlil and Jade." she said..

We all engaged in making sandwiches and eating...We were starved......

Lt. Tragg got a report..

"They won the hearing..The Legal Ethics Board found no wrong doing on Lawrence's part and Yvette Jones 

has presented a motion to supress the actual evidence behind the Blackmail....Oh yeah and both

Judge Morrison and ADA Jake Patais

have recused themselves from the case." said the Plain Clothes cop.

"WHATTTT??" screamed a livid Lt. Tragg. "That wuss, Jake Patais...Diane Baronski

 has him so whipped ,he can't think straight...She probably told him to recuse himself.. Damn it!!! Ohhh okay...Good Job..Come in." he said.

At Curleys Bar...TWO HOURS LATER

''Well we are halfway there." said Yvette.

"Thank you soooo much, I knew you were the best one to defend me..."said Billie Lawrence. "Tonight, all of your drinks are on me." she said.

As a Citris Martini and a Mango Martini arrived..

Lt. Tragg walked up to their table..

"Sooooooo you ladies appeared before the Legal Ethics Board huh?  Had a good day eh?" he said.

"No grass grows under your feet." said Yvette as she sipped her drink..

Billie Lawrence ignored him completely...Both women just wished he would go away...but that was not likely...

Gary walked up...

"Heyyyy Billie...Congratulations...I heard you guys were successful today at the Board.

 I ran into the youngins on my way here.." he said. 

He had seen us on our way to Aqua Bar

It was salsa night..

We were meeting, Beverly, Nelson, Josie, Paris, Kayla, Ray,Jazzy, Dabnis, Jessica and Chip there after work..

We wanted to get there before the place got packed..

We didn't want to miss out on the Tacos and 

and good Salsa....

MEANWHILE BACK AT CURLEY'S BAR!!

"Yes we did...You've got quite a lady...Yvette, You and Gary's drinks are on my tab...I'm going home...I'll see you tomorrow.."said Billie, glad to be getting away from Lt.Tragg.

"Get some rest Billie..See you in the morning.."said Yvette, smiling..

"Look at my winner..My heavy hitter."said Gary

He took Yvette in his arms and began to kiss her slowly, passionately.... It was quite clear that they had no intention of talking to or entertaining Lt. Tragg..

He was furious...He needed to know who the judge and ADA was going to be on this case...He wanted, needed a win on this case for a number of reasons..He stomped his foot and stormed out of the bar...

Yvette and Gary continued kissing..

(TO BE CONTINUED)