Eventualities

 COURTROOM B-

"ALL RISE FOR THE HONORABLE JUDGE KELLY ANN MERCER." said the Bailiff.

"Docket 431, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Vs. Jean Wallace, Charge, First Degree Murder." he said.

 as Kelly Ann took the bench.

"GOOD MORNING!! GOOD MORNING ATTORNEYS AND PERSPECTIVE JURORS!I am Judge Kelly Mercer..I see some familliar faces today..... . Welcome to my courtroom....Due to courtroom crowding of cases , we are going to bypass a preliminary hearing...We know that a crime, a henious crime has been committed so we are going to go straight to trial.. I expect, some of you are tired of hearing this...but it is what it is..We are  trying to wind down our case load.. We will have Jury selection today.. Trial could begin tomorrow morning if we seat a jury today.." said Judge Mercer... "We will start today with introductions.." she said.

"Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Jendell your honor, representing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. " he said. 

"Olivia Bennett-Alexander, Lead Attorney for the Defense your honor."said Olivia.

"Beverly West-East, Attorney for the Defense your honor." said Beverly.

"Nelson East, Attorney for the Defense your honor." said Nelson.

"Josie Boyd, Attorney for the Defense your honor." said Josie.

"Bresha Boyd, Attorney for the defense your honor."said Bresha.

I sat next to our client, Jean Wallace..

She was quiet, contrite, pensive.

Lt. Tragg was extra alert today...after all, his girlfriend, Judge Kelly Anne was on the bench...He tried crossing his legs to hide his massive erection.. He was convinced that he had a good case...He wanted to impress her in anyway he could.

''Alright, we are done with the introductions...We can begin with the jury selection..." said Judge Kelly Ann, who reminded me more of grade school teacher than a judge at times...She was pleasant woman, but not to be trifled with.

Ken Jendall was smart and seemed to be well prepared...more prepared than most...He knew a little something about Voir Dire and was not going to let Nelson run amok or so he thought.

But Nelson had the slight advantage...Our technology and my brilliant run down of each of the jurors, the way they voted in elections, their jobs, their education level, et al...gave him an advantage.. We knew it all going in..

Bresha and  Josie, his little understudies , Protoge's if you will, both were helping him today...They sat behind their laptops and whispered certain things they had talked about into his ear.. He smiled wickedly....

Nelson got a 8-4 split, including the jury foreman.......

"Look at my honey bunny." said Beverly ,smiling.

"Your hubby is good!  Your whole team is good." said Jean...She understood that the jury was made up of a majority of people we wanted..

Olivia smiled.

Ken Jendall was a bit disappointed with his performance...being out dueled by Nelson. .He knew all about us there was to know....He had prepared well and yet, we had already bested him....He had rarely ever felt so humbled in a trial...He was always self confident to the point of being considered cocky by some...

Kelly Ann was surprised too...She had worked with Ken Jendall, he had tried several cases in her courtroom.  He had humiliated defense attorneys.She had never seen him out witted ,out lawyered if you will this soon in a trial..Part of her felt a little sorry for him, but part of her didn't...This wasn't a game, this was serious business..she thought and he of all people should know that.

"OUTSTANDING!!! We have a jury.."said Judge Mercer...Trial will begin promptly tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, Jurors, Attorneys  Be on time and Be ready for trial." said Judge Kelly Ann Mercer.."You are dismissed." she said, striking her gavel. 

"Well, we are done for today...Let's go home folks."said Olivia.

 

"Today is Move in day for some of our friends isn't it?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, the houses in the next Block right?" said Jean...

"Yes and a chance for you to meet our realtor and see about an apartment." said Beverly.

"Renee and Tyrell are having a soiree at their house afterwards..." said Nelson.

"We party sooo much.." said Josie.

"I know right?" said Bresha.

We piled into our Pathfinder and pulled off...

ADA Ken Jendall looked on from a distance.

II-

The U-haul trucks pulled off... Four of the five houses had been filled....

in the new block ,right down the street from us....

Zoey and Lem were in the first house...

"Ohhhhhhh this is soooo nice..We are sooo much closer "gushed Zoey...

"I know you love this....Now you can visit with Olivia and Yvette more often..Just walk up the street or across the street."said her husband, Lem.

Next Door to them was Nina and Carlos, first time homeowners...

"Ohhh this is beautiful....After all of those years in the Condos, finally a home." said Nina.

"I'm from the Barrio...This is why I became a lawyer, to get a sexy wife and to have a home."said Carlos.

And next to them was Natalie and David in their second home....

"Look at us..in our second home!" gushed Natalie.

David smiled and hugged her.

And next door to them was Brooke and Sean, also in their second home..

"Look at us...in our second home.." said Brooke.

"Aint being a lawyer grand?" laughed Sean. 

"This is soooo nice, everybody together now." said Olivia.

 

"I know you're ecstatic...Will I ever see you  now that all your girlfriends are within arms reach?" I asked.

"Oh of course silly."laughed Olivia.

''All my girls are walking distance now...Jazzy down the street, Bresha down the street,Kayla, Josie, Bee Bee, Sofia and Renee across the street and Natalie and Brookie down the street now in the next block.I couldn't ask fir better,." said Beverly.

"I know you're happy." said Nelson, smiling.

"Wow...Just one more couple to move in and we'll have it."said Josie.

"Oh yeah, Matthew and Lee...Their stuff arrives tomorrow...Me, Tony , Tyrese ,Ray and Dabnis aren't going to work tomorrow, We are going to help Matthew set everything up.  Lisa wrote instructions on where she wants everything."said Paris.

''So did I, so Did Josie, when we moved in our houses.."laughed Bresha.

"Yeah, I remember."laughed her husband, Tony.

"This is soooo nice, New neighbors." laughed Alfreda.

"They aren't new...We know all of them." laughed Rockland. 

"The Guys are helping me move everything into our new house honey."said Matthew.

"I'm going to be staying with Beverly and Nelson all next week until we get married."said Lee.

"I'm going to miss you." said Matthew..

"Awww ,I'm going to miss you too!" said Lee.

 

 "Awwwwwwwwww, it's just a week...You can do it....We've all done it."said Yvette.

''Didn't mean we liked it." said her husband, Gary.

"I know right?" said Keith Jones , high fiving Gary.

'Yeah, but on that wedding night, it was all worth it...wasn't it?" said Bee Bee.

"It sure was." gushed Sofia.

"Yeah I guess it was." said Kahlil.

"Our Honeymoon was wonderful." said Jade.

''We hope yours will be too!"said her husband, Danny.

"Thank you....I know it will be.." said Lee.

"I love weddings..I can't wait for you two to get hitched.."said Virginia.

"I like Honeymoons ."laughed Jetty...

 

"Of course you do, you nasty dog."laughed Virginia.

"You two are tooo funny."laughed Jazzy.
 

"Me and the guys are going to be helping Matthew set up tomorrow...We aren't going to work."said Dabnis.

''Well after work, We, Jazzy, me, Renee,Jessica, Karen, Brooke, Natalie and Ms. Zoey are stopping by to help clean up and vaccum..We are Bringing a case of Beer and Fried Chicken from Mabel Jenkins joint." said Kayla.

"Now that's the kind of clean up ,I dig.." said Ray.

"We figured if we bring food, we'll make a night of it."said Jessica.

"I'll be by too guys to help you with the heavy lifting and set up...I'm not going to work either."said Chip.

"The More the merrier.We'll be done quicker." said Ray.

"And this Saturday ladies...and gents...We can break the new laundromat in"said Karen..

"Yeah that's a good idea."said B.L.

"I've got some things bagged up already." said Renee.

"I do too."laughed her husband, Tyrell.

Renee and Tyrell hosted a housewarming party at their home for all of our neighbors..

. 

"This is sooo nice!  I love it!" said Olivia.

 

"It's nice to be closer to some of our friends...even though they were just six blocks away.." I said.

"Imagine the block parties we can have." said Beverly...

"Shame we got court tomorrow...I would've helped Matthew set up his house." said Nelson.

"He'll have plenty of help from what I hear,"said Josie, smiling.

".Their stuff arrives tomorrow...Me, Tony , Tyrese ,Ray and Dabnis aren't going to work tomorrow, We are going to help Matthew set everything up.  Lisa wrote instructions on where she wants everything."said Paris.

''And Jazzy, Kayla and the ladies from their office will be helping with the cleanup...Matthew will be just fine." said Bresha.

"Oh for sure...We got it covered." said Tony....

"Nice!  "said Alfreda..

"If I can get off early, I might stop by, bring a case of beer.."said Rockland. 

"We are bringing Beer and Fried Chicken...bring some wine." said Jazzy....
 

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow."laughed Dabnis.

"Just have everything set up and together by the time we get there." by Kayla.

"Don't worry...We'll handle our end." laughed Ray.

"I know you all will."laughed Jessica.

"It's going to be fun..."said Chip, who was also taking off work to help out.

" I'm so happy for all of them..."said Karen.

"Never have I seen such unity of purpose." marveled B.L.

'We are family...That has a lot to do with why we all moved around here in the first place."said Natalie..

reunited with her childhood friends...

"I'm just glad that tonight we will sleep in our own beds in our new homes."said David.

"Me too!   I love these homes...So new, So modern.." said Brooke.

"Yes....just like our friends across the street." said Sean.

"We are right down the street, on the same side of the street as Olivia."said Zoey.

''And We've got a new coffee shoppe and a laundromat to boot."said Lem.

"Thanks for throwing this Renee." said Olivia.

"Oh you guys are welcome Olivia.. We just love living around here and with all of you guys."said Renee.

"This almost feels like a Holiday."said Tyrell.

"Tomorrow night, I move in with Beverly and Nelson... They have an extra room in their domicile."said Lee.

"Yeah they have a client living in their sub-basement." said Matthew.

"I can't wait to settle into our new house tonight." said Nina.

"Me neither." said Carlos.

 

 ''We are going to be in the building by ourselves." chuckled Yvette.

"Like when you were in your original building....You're used to it." laughed Gary.

"Maybe we can work a half day huh Ms. Yvette?" asked Keith Jones.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm"laughed Bee Bee.

"She's not going to do that."laughed Sofia.

"I know right?" said Kahlil.

"You get your filing done and I'll cut everybody loose by 1:00, how's that?" asked Ms. Yvette.

"Ouuuuuuuu Yayyyyyyyyyy!" laughed Jade.

"Lawers life." shrugged Danny Ho...who as a lieutenant of Robbery- Homicide and would be working

all day.

"Ouu that feels good." said Virginia.   "I'm going to help you guys with your filing." said Ms. Virginia.

Her husband, Jetty smiled...

Everybody was happy this afternoon...but for us...We had a trial to contend to.

"Jean this is our realtor, Sepia Morris...talk to her about an apartment...Give her your price range."said Olivia.

"Hi Jean....I have several apartments I can show you in several price ranges near here."said Sepia.

"Ouuuuuuuu thank youuuu!" said Jean....

Hard to believe she was about to go on trial for her life tomorrow.

III-

COURTROOM B-

This was the beginning of one of the most bizzare trials we had ever been involved in.... ADA Ken Jendall was a very articulate orator who was good at waving a story, a narrative.

He looked like a fool trying to convince the jurors that a young woman , who it was quite obvious from bar room video camera footage was unconscious at the bar after having downed five drinks and had to be carried out by the bartender...Nick Turner, who has since been murdered himself..

And winds up on the couch in just her bra and panties with a gun, a throwdown gun, belonging to no one...in her hands....

The jury looked perplexed and hard pressed to believe this...

The crime scene photos showed her skirt and her blouse and her coat, neatly folded and laid on a chair across the room and the dead body of Walt Simonson lying on the floor with three bullet holes from the gun in him and the young lady sound asleep.

The Detectives who were first on the scene and the policemen who arrived with them testified the young lady, Jean Wallace was sound asleep, snoring....looking as though she'd been asleep for hours...

Some in the jury shook their heads in disbelief.. 

We sat ,practically snickering as ADA Ken Jardell tried to argue this case....and was not only making our case for us...but destroying his own case. People were beginning to wonder, who thought this was a good case? Who accused this woman of murder when she was barely awake...When she was arguably inebriated and incapable of killing anyone.

The Jury even wondered , who folded her clothing?

Olivia asked these questions and argued this same thing in her rebuttal.

 

Beverly argued that she was an easy target and that lazy policing is the sole reason why Jean Wallace

was accused.

Nelson looked at the Bar footage.. He argued that Jean was obviously incapacitated... And said that if she was snoring, she obviously had been asleep for awhile and did not shoot and kill anybody...He put the blame for that on Nick Turner, the bartender , who is seen taking her from the bar after she collapses.

Josie showed Jean's medical report, which showed a large amount of Rohypnol in her urine...

"Enough to knock out a horse." said Josie.

Bresha brought up the fact that Nicky Turner took several calls from a blocked number that night....

and also showed financial records showing that he received a number of large payments from two different bank accounts....both based in the Caymen Islands..

I smiled... We revealed all of this during the prosecution and we hadn't even begun our defense..

Nelson noted that we had won the entire jury....

ADA Jendell brought in three witnesses who claimed that Walt Simonson had asked Jean Wallace out on dates at least 7 times....

On Cross Examination, Olivia got them all to admit that she had never gone out with him...

Jendell brought up that Jean Wallace had filed two HR reports on Simonson ,claiming inappropriate touching and bias toward her work performance.. He was inadvertedly winning our argument for us..

Josie showed photos of Jean Wallace when she was an exotic dancer and say Walt Simonson threatened to make these photos public....if she didn't date him and eventually go to bed with him...Which was why she was in CIROS bar, waiting for him....

His Hostile witness, Alfred Swearington sat in court with a smirk on his face...

His attorney , H.Stanley Stanlison, smiling at what he had heard so far....

Olivia glared at him as he sat there...She knew that we had information that the prosecution didn't have.

Lt. Tragg looked stoic. His investigation had more holes in it than Swiss Cheese...He knew it and he knew everyone in court knew it.

THREE DAYS LATER-

ADA Ken Jendell didn't bother to call Al Swearington...He determined he was not a valuable witness...

Olivia immediately pounced on him...

"Mr. Swearington, you've been a very baddddd boy....You had affairs with several women at your job....The wives of your associates and partners as these photos show.."

said Olivia showing the jury the lurid photos....

Al Swearington looked as if he'd swallowed a canary...He had no idea we'd found these photos.He had had a private investigator turning the city upside down looking for the photos and the negatives.

H.Stanley Stanlison loudly objected and demanded that the photos be stricken from the court records...

"I'm going for motive your honor." said Olivia.

"I'll allow it.but get to the point and fast Mrs. Alexander." said Judge Kelly Anne..

"We have copies of your financials....Over the past few months...You wired large amounts of money into an account in the Caymen Islands belonging to Walt Simonson.. He was Blackmailing you wasn't he?....and Bartender Nicky Turner was working for him." said Beverly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." said  Al Swearington.

"That is obviously you in these photos isn't it?  And we know that the three women you are with are the wives of three of your law partners...Is that not true?" asked Josie.

"Y-Yes....." he said contritely.

"Nicky Turner was a Part time Bartender at Ciros...No way he could afford the apartment he was living in ,in the same condo Walt Simonson was living in. Simonson was bankrolling him....Then you discovered him and his roll in your being black mailed and you took control of him...You gave him more money... The money in his back account, coming from a dummy account owned by you is all here. It enabled him to continue his lavish lifestyle."said Nelson.

"My husband is a very good investigator...He located a camera owned by Nicky Turner...A camera that took these incriminating photos.." said Olivia.

"Her husband is  a  far better investigator than you...I told you to recanvass, to dig deeper."snarled Ken Jendell to Lt. Tragg..

Lt. Tragg looked as if he had swallowed a canary,plus he was embarrassed being exposed in front of Judge Kelly Ann.

"Nicky Turner told you he had found photos of Jean Wallace when she was an exotic dancer and he told you that Walt Simonson had put the squeeze on her and that she was meeting him for drinks and a date at CIROS...That's when you came up with the plan to drug her and bring her back to the apartment didn't you?"said Josie.

"Not a word of truth to any of this." said Alfred Swearington...

"I beg to differ Mr. Swearington...As I said My husband is a very good investigator...We found a purchase of Rohypnol purchased a week before on line....WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD!...He did a deep dive into you." said Olivia.

"You had already killed Walt Simonson...and Nicky Turner supplied the unconscious body and the murder weapon to place in her hands...Only he wasn't too much on brains... He folded her clothes neatly and placed them on a chair across the room...We know that because his sweat and DNA was found on her clothing..."said Bresha.

"I don't know why you killed Nicky....but I'm sure the police will piece it together." said Olivia.

"None of this is true...It's all speculation."said Alfred Swearington..

"It's all speculation.." said H.Stanley Stanlison..

 

"The Defense Rests your honor."said Olivia.

"Alright Jurors, you've heard the evidence from both sides....Talk amongst yourselves and make an intelligent decision...Remember, a young lady's life hangs in the balance." said Judge Kelly Anne.

IV-

COURTROOM B-THE NEXT MORNING!

"ALL RISE FOR THE HONORABLE JUDGE KELLY ANN MERCER!" said the Bailiff.

We all stood as Judge Kelly Anne walked toward the bench...

 

 

Olivia held my hand...her palms were sweaty...

Jean held my other hand...She was nervous too!

Beverly and Nelson held each other's hand...

Josie and Bresha stood stoically...

"Everyone be seated." she said. "Has the jury reached a consensus, a verdict?" asked Judge Kelly Ann.

"We have your honor." said the Jury Foreman who passed it to the bailiff..

The Bailiff passed the verdict to Judge Kelly Ann..

She read it and smiled a little... "Read it!" she said.

"COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA FINDS THE DEFENDENT, JEAN WALLACE,

NOT GUILTY OF THE CHARGE OF FIRSAT DEGREE MURDER!" he said..

"OH MY GOD!!! I'M FREE!" said a relieved Jean Wallace..

Olivia and Beverly leaped up into the air and yelled "WHOOOOOOOOOOO WEEEEEEEEE!" and high fived each other....

"You doing that deep dive into both Simonson and Swearington really helped.."said Nelson.

"You and Bev really helped a lot with the research of his financials and other records I wouldn't have been privy to...It's nice working with lawyers.."I said with a smile.

''Well Lady, we've got a wedding to go to ."said Josie.

"Ouuuuuuuuuu I'm so excited.."gushed Bresha.

 

ADA Ken Jendell said nothing to anybody...He just turned and walked out of the courtroom....

EPILOUGE-

Alfred Swearington was arrested and indicted for the murder of Walt Simonson....He was convicted of Second Degree Murder surprisingly.... Disbarred and sentenced to 25-30 years in State Prison.

Sepia met with Jean and was able to get her an apartment in the same building that Keith, Bee Bee, Sofia,Kahlil, Jade and Ms. Virginia had lived in and that Nina and Carlos and Lee and Matthew had just moved out of ...

We loved it! With her living there...We could still have our rooftop parties in the summer.

A WEEK LATER-

Lee and Matthew had a Candlelight Wedding..

Lee's Wedding dress was gorgeous....stunning..

Like Jazzy, Renee, Kayla and Natalie....I walked Lee down the aisle 

Her Groom, Matthew Ake was glad to see her.. He hadn't seen her in a week...He stayed in the new house, all alone, while Lee stayed with us... In Beverly and Nelson's domicile...(They had an extra room like we did.) Some Nights, Chip, Carlos, Sean and David dropped by and played cards with him and drank beer..It wasn't like having Lee there curled up in the bed..

At night,Lee, Jean, Nelson, Beverly and sometimes others, Jazzy, Kayla, Josie and Bresha sat up and played cards and laughed and talked. Her week went fast...

Matthew's Father, Mother and Sister were there..

Everybody was sharp...

Ms. Yvette, Gary, Keith, Bee Bee, Sofia, Kahlil, Ms. Jade, Danny, Ms. Virginia and Jetty all sat in the front on one side...

Sitting in the front on the other side was Olivia, Myself, Beverly, Nelson, Josie,Paris, Bresha, Tony,Ms. Alfreda and Rockland..

Sitting behind them was Jazzy, Dabnis, Kayla, Ray, Jessica,Chip, Zoey and Lem

Karen Page and her boyfriend, B.L. was also present.

Brooke and Sean, who were coming up on their second wedding  anniversary were here....

Natalie and David were there.... They had been here themselves just two years ago..

.

Beverly was her Maid of Honor 

.She had only two Bridesmaids...Kayla and Jazzy..

Nelson was his Best man.

Renee and Tyrell were there also.

And of course our most recently married friends, Nina and Carlos were also there.

And it was a beautiful wedding..

Reverend Struthers, who had married all of us was at this service too, marrying these two, who like all of us, had joined this church upon moving around here..

Lee and Matthew looked so happy together....Finally married.

"I'm so happy for them." said Beverly....

"So am I." said Olivia..

It was a beautiful night and a wonderful ending for us all.