Second Chair, A Stan Turner Mystery, Vol.4

  Chapter 14

  Voir Dire

   

  The following day as I pulled into the courthouse parking lot behind my police escort, I was shocked to see that the number of reporters and cameramen milling around had increased by tenfold. As soon as I got out of my car, the crowd mobbed me. Although I didn’t want to spurn the press, it would have been extremely difficult to give an interview under these conditions. Legal ethics wouldn’t allow me to say much anyway so I reluctantly responded to each inquiry with a “Sorry, no comment.” Luckily my police escort was there to help me through the throng and before long I was in the courthouse.

  Snake was busily reviewing the jury questionnaires when I walked in. Hudson and Margie Westcott were also hard at work. I sat down beside Snake. "How do they look?" I asked.

  "I don't know, there's an awful lot of young housewives in here," Snake replied.

  "Really, what kind of juror do you think we should be trying to get?"

  "Young males, I think, are our best bets. We also don't want anybody who is devoutly religious."

   "What about young girls, don't you think they might sympathize with Sarah?"

  "Not necessarily. Frankly there isn't anyone who will be sympathetic to Sarah if she killed her baby, but we need to get a jury panel that will, at least, listen to the evidence and make their decision strictly on the facts."

  As we were talking, the bailiff stood up and ordered everyone to rise. Then Judge Brooks entered the Courtroom and sat down. “Be seated,” he said. After rearranging some items on his desk, he gazed around the courtroom for a minute and then looked at Hudson. "Mr. Hudson, is the State ready to proceed?"

  Hudson stood up tall, gave me a glance and replied, “Yes, Your Honor."

  The judge looked at me. "Mr. Turner, I trust you've been able to reconstruct your records?"

  "Yes, Sir, the defense is prepared to go forward."

  "Very well then, bailiff, bring in the jury panel."

  The bailiff left the room and after a minute the jury members began entering the Courtroom. The bailiff directed them to take several rows of seats in the spectator's gallery which they did. The judge then introduced himself and advised them how the jury would be selected. He then explained the rules that they would have to follow if they were chosen as jurors. Finally, he said, "Mr. Hudson, you may proceed."

  "Thank you, your honor. Ladies and Gentlemen. I want to thank you for coming down here today to serve as jurors. I know you are all very busy and it's a great inconvenience to you, but each of you will be playing a critical role in the judicial process.

  "The purpose of the questions which Mr. Turner and I will be asking you today is to determine if each of you would be a fair and impartial jurist. Each of you have different backgrounds and experiences and accordingly different biases and prejudices that could have a bearing on the performance of your duties as members of the jury. We need to find out if any of those biases and prejudices would prevent you from following the Court's instructions and following the law as it should be applied in this case.

  "In order for a determination to be made that each of you could be fair and impartial, it is necessary that I explain what this trial will be about. This is a murder trial. The victim was a newborn baby allegedly killed by her mother. The state will attempt to prove that the mother killed her baby. The defense will try to prove she didn't do it or, if she did, that she has some other legal defense to the charge of murder."

  "The punishment for killing a baby, depending on the facts and circumstances could be anywhere from six months to life imprisonment. It may even be possible for someone charged with this type of crime to get probation and never see a day in jail. So my first question for all of you is simply this, is there anyone who feels very strongly that they could not consider a short punishment of six months to a year or even probation if it turns out the baby was killed by her mother."

  Half the members of the jury panel raised their hands. Hudson looked down at his jury diagram and then said, "Mrs. Phillips, I noticed that you raised your hand?"

  "Yes,"

  "I see you are a waitress."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Why is it you raised your hand?"

  "Well, I think probation would be out of the question for someone who killed her own flesh and blood. I just can't imagine giving her anything less than life in prison. She really ought to be hanged!"

  Several spectators applauded the remark. The judge gave them a dirty look and banged his gavel. "Quiet."

  Hudson continued, “If the circumstances were such that the law said probation could be considered, could you consider it?"

  "I couldn't vote for probation under any circumstances."

  "I see," Hudson said.

  Hudson went on to question each of the jury panelists who had raised their hands and got varying responses.

  "Now, let me reverse the question. Is there anyone who could not consider life imprisonment if it turned out Sarah Winters did kill her baby?

  Two men raised their hands. Hudson located them on his seating chart and then asked, "Okay, Mr. Rutledge, you raised your hand. What kind of work do you do?"

  "I'm a librarian."

  "And where do you work?"

  "At the ASU library."

  "Why is it you raised your hand?"

  "If it's legal for a woman to have an abortion up to a few weeks before the child is born, then I just can't see that killing a baby just a few weeks later would warrant life imprisonment? I think she should be punished, but life imprisonment is too harsh."

  "If the Judge explained the law to you and the facts that you found to have occurred clearly showed that the mother should get life imprisonment, could you vote for that?"

  "No, I just can't see it."

  "All right, thank you."

  Hudson questioned the other juror who had raised his hand and he agreed with the first juror.

  "Now ladies and gentlemen there has been a lot of publicity in conjunction with this case. You may have read newspaper articles, seen reports on the TV or heard about this case from your friends and neighbors. Is there anyone who has already made up their mind as to Sarah Winter’s guilt or innocence based on the publicity this trial has received?"

  Several hands went up so Hudson looked down at his chart and picked out one of the parties to question. "Miss Green, you raised your hand. How are you employed?"

  "I'm a secretary at Walters' Electronics."

  "How have you heard about this case?"

  "I saw some TV reports, you know on Channel 2, and I read about it in the paper."

  "Based on what you've seen and heard have you made up your mind as to the defendant’s guilt or innocence?"

  "Yes, I have. She's obviously guilty as sin."

  "Now, Mrs. Green, do you believe in the American tradition that a man or woman is innocent until proven guilty?"

  "I suppose, but I just can't see how Sarah Winters could conveniently forget what happened to her baby. She must have killed it."

  "What if there is evidence that shows she might not have done it. Could you consider that evidence and possibly find her innocent?"

  "Yes, perhaps, but I don't think that will happen."

  Hudson spent the several hours grilling the prospective jurors. By the time it was my turn to question the jury panel there was considerable question as to whether there was anyone left that wouldn't be disqualified for cause. Judge Brooks called the lawyers up to the bench for a conference. "Listen, I just want to warn all of you right now, I'm not going to let any potential juror off for cause unless it's absolutely clear he or she can't be fair and impartial. With this kind of trial it's not going to be easy to pick a jury so I've got be very restrained here."

  Stan and Hudson nodded but Snake commented, "Your honor, there isn't a juror on this panel that shouldn't be stricken for cause."

  "I disagree, obviously people are going to be emotional about this type of case, but they still have the capacity to be
fair and follow the law,” the judge said as he leaned toward us. “This is precisely my point. Maybe in a DWI trial I would be liberal with my strikes, but we'll never get a jury picked in this case unless I am very careful only to disqualify those that are clearly biased." He sat back in his chair, the implication being that the sidebar was over.

  I started to leave but Snake didn’t move. He just glared at the judge. He said, “But your honor—"

  "Mr. Hertel,” the judge said not letting Snake finish his sentence, “your position is duly noted, but I didn't call you up here for a debate, I just wanted to inform you of the Court's intentions as to strikes for cause. Now Mr. Turner, I trust you will finish up questioning the jury panel with some dispatch as it's time to get on with the trial."

  "Yes, your honor. I think Mr. Hudson has asked just about every question imaginable. I can only think of a few that he missed.”

  "All right, let's get on with it then," the judge said.

  "Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, I know you are all tired and want to either go home or get seated as a juror. I promise you I won't bore you with another day and half of questions."

  Hudson turned and glared at me. Snake chuckled. One of the black jurors exclaimed, "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord." The gallery erupted in laughter and the Judge picked up his gavel and slammed it down angrily. "All right, this is a murder trial not a theatrical performance. I won't tolerate any misbehavior.”

  I continued. "But if you will indulge me for about ten minutes then we can get on with this trial. There are just two questions I need to discuss with all of you. As I am sure you are all aware, according to the law, the defendant is innocent. Yes, she is innocent because the law presumes her to be innocent. So at this moment you have to consider her to be innocent. It's only if the state is able to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty, that you can find her to be guilty. Is there anyone who, right this minute, doesn't think the defendant is innocent?"

  Four or five hands immediately went up and several others followed with less alacrity. I looked at one of the jurors whose hand was raised and said, "Mrs. Small, are you unable to consider the defendant innocent right now, before the state has put on its case and presented its evidence?"

  "Yes, I just can't see how she could possibly be innocent. I mean she had the baby and according to the paper she doesn't claim anyone else killed it, so— "

  "You realize, don't you, that the newspaper is not evidence?"

  "Well, yes."

  "Can you put whatever you read about it aside and accept the fact that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty?"

  "I don't know."

  I turned away from Mrs. Small and addressed a male juror who had his hand raised. "Mr. Simonton, do you feel the same way as Mrs. Small?"

  "Not exactly, but I can't change how I feel, just because the law says she is innocent that doesn't mean I believe it."

  "If Mr. Hudson was unable to meet his burden and prove that Sarah Winters was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, could you find the defendant innocent?"

  "I don't understand."

  "Well, right now I get the impression you think Sarah Winters is guilty."

  "Yes, I believe she is."

  "Then, it doesn't matter in your mind what Mr. Hudson does during the trial, does it? You're going to make me prove she is innocent otherwise you are going to vote that she is guilty. Am I right?"

  "I suppose so."

  "Well, that's not the way it works in this court. The burden of proof is on the prosecution, not the defense. The Court will instruct you that you must consider Sarah Winters innocent right now. Can you do that Mr. Simonton?"

  "I can't change how I feel!"

  "All right. I respect that."

  I continued to quiz each juror, who had their hand raised on the issue of the burden of proof, then went on to my next question.

  "Yesterday, Mr. Hudson asked you what you had read about Sarah Winters in the newspapers. Do you remember that?" Many of the jury panel shook their heads affirmatively. "Well, Mr. Hudson didn't quite cover that subject as deeply as I would like. How many of you ever read the National Examiner?" About a third of the potential jurist raised their hands."How many of you have read articles about Sarah Winters in the National Examiner?" The same hands went up. "After reading those articles," I said, "how many of you think Sarah Winters is a witch?"

  The room went deadly silent. Everyone looked around to see each other’s reaction. One lady squirmed in her chair. All eyes shifted to her. She looked around at the stares, took a deep breath and then slowly raised her hand. A lady behind her smiled and raised her hand also. I said to the first lady, "Mrs. Mott, do you really believe that or are you just trying to get out of jury duty?"

  She replied, "In my heart I believe she is."

  I looked at the judge, shrugged then I turned to the second juror and said, "Mrs. Motley, how about you? Do you believe the National Examiner article?"

  She took a deep breath and said, "Well, I don't believe all of it but I do think she's possessed."

  "What makes you think—" I stopped myself. I wasn't going to get into this line of questioning. Turning to the judge I said, "Your honor, do I need to question these witnesses further?"

  "No," the judge said. "Both of you are excused."

  The two women got up and left the courtroom.

  "Thank you, Your Honor," I said. "Now I'm almost through. Please bear with me. . . . I would assume most of you have heard about the temporary insanity defense. Raise your hand if you have."Almost everyone raised their hand. “Okay, temporary insanity may be an issue in this case so I want to discuss it briefly. What is temporary insanity? Basically there are two instances under which a person could be relieved of criminal responsibility for his acts. Both require that his or her conduct be as a result of a mental disease or defect. The first instance is that the disease or defect makes the actor unaware that what he is doing is right or wrong. The second instance is that the disease or defect made it impossible for the actor to conform to the law. Now the question I have for each of you is whether you could find a defendant innocent by reason of insanity, if the facts justified it? If anyone would have difficulty finding someone innocent by reason of temporary insanity, even if the facts justified it, please raise your hand."

  Five hands went up immediately and two others followed after a few seconds.

  "Okay, Mr. Reardon, you would have a problem with finding someone innocent by reason of insanity?"

  "Yes, I think if a person's insane he still . . . well . . . he still has to be . . . you know . . . held accountable . . . yeah, held accountable . . . you know . . . for what he did. You know what I mean?"

  "I think I understand. You disagree with the law, right?"

  "Yeah . . . yeah . . . that's right."

  "Could you put aside your disagreement with the law and find a defendant innocent by reason of insanity if the facts justified it?"

  "Ah. . . . Well. . . . Yeah. . . . Maybe."

  "Are you absolutely sure you could apply the law correctly even if you thought the law stunk?"

  "Well, not one hundred percent, you know. . . . I'd try. . . . But, I'm not sure one hundred percent."

  I talked with a few more jurors and then said, "That's all I have for now. I want to thank all of you for being candid with me. I know this hasn't been a very pleasant experience for you but I want you to know Sarah Winters, Harry Hertel and I all appreciate the time that each and every one of you has given up in the interest of bringing about justice in this case. Thank you."

  "Thank you very much Mr. Turner," Judge Brooks said. "I am going to dismiss the jury panel at this time except for those jurists that counsel desire to question privately before the court. The bailiff will inform you if you need to stay. Tomorrow morning at eight a.m. I want counsel back here to make their strikes and then we'll seat the jury and begin the trial."

  When I got back to the office, Jodie was anxiously awaiting my arrival
. As soon as I entered the reception area, she intercepted me.

  "How did it go?"

  "I don't know, there were a lot of prospective jurors who had already made up their mind. I hope we can find twelve who haven't."

  "Me too."

  I looked at my watch and then remarked, "It's already six o'clock, isn't Rodney going to be missing you?"

  "No, we broke up."

  "You're not serious?"

  "Yes, I'm afraid so. We haven't been doing too well lately."

  "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "Me too."

  "Well, this isn't the first time you two have broken up, maybe you'll get back together."

  "I'm not so sure I want to."

  How ironic I thought. A few weeks ago a human being lost its life to save this relationship that suddenly has no hope. "You just had an abortion to protect your relationship with him. Don’t tell me you’re giving up on him that easily."

  "You're damn right I am. The bastard. I hate him."

  "Well, I'm sorry, Jodie. Maybe it will be for the best then,” I said trying to hide my dismay. “Anyway, I'm going to check my mail and phone messages and then get out of here."

  "Okay, good luck tomorrow, I'll see you later."

  "Good night."

  Jodie left and I went over to my desk and started looking through my mail. I was surprised to see a letter from Mo.

  "Mr. Turner, I've been reading about you in the newspaper. The trial you have going is very interesting. You're becoming quite the celebrity. I've told everyone that you're my lawyer and they are very much impressed. Listen, if you need any research done or someone checked out I've got the right contacts to do it. Just let me know if I can be of service. Contact me by mail, not by telephone. I don’t have a secure line. Keep up the good work. Mo."

   

  I chuckled at the idea of getting help from the CIA. Maybe Mo could help me out. The CIA certainly could give me a better report on our five Doomsayer suspects and the Children of God than Burden Security. I decided to take Mo up on his offer. I’d have Jodie type up a memo explaining what we needed and then send it to him at the address in his letter.

  After reading the last piece of mail I checked my phone messages. There was a message from Tom. He said it was urgent so I called him back immediately. “Tom, this is Stan. What’s up?” I asked.

  “I’m so glad you called,” he said. “There was a little incident last night at a restaurant I thought you should know about.”

  “What happened?”

  "Sarah, Nate and I were at Steak & Ale in Richardson. A lady said some pretty ugly things to Sarah. She got her pretty upset.”

  “How did that happen?”

  “We were seated at a table waiting for our orders. Sarah had gone to powder her nose and Nate and I were discussing Sarah’s defense. Nate was arguing that Sarah ought to plead temporary insanity on account of the fact he thinks she did it. I, of course, disagreed since I’m not so sure she did do it and I didn’t want her locked up in a mental institution the rest of her life. Apparently a lady overheard us arguing and realized who we were. When Sarah came back, she made sure everyone in the restaurant knew who she was.”

  “Oh my God,” I said, imagining the scene in my head.

  “She called her a witch and said she should be burned at the stake. Then other people started joining in on the attack. Someone said they ought to string her up right there in the restaurant. Luckily our police escort kept everyone away from her as we made a hasty exit.”

  “Boy, that is bizarre. It’s almost like an episode out of a John Wayne movie. . . . Is Sarah okay?”

  “I think so. She cried all the way home though. She’s lying down now in her room. Nate’s with her.”

  “Good. . . . I’m curious about one thing you said.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why does Nate think Sarah is guilty? Does he know something Sarah hasn’t told me?”

  “I don’t think so, it’s just his gut feeling I’m sure. I’m afraid Nate has a rather low opinion of women in general and as much as he loves Sarah, he just doesn’t believe her. In his mind pleading temporary insanity is her best shot at staying out of jail.”

  “Well, it may be too late to plead temporary insanity at this stage of the game, but if you and Nate know Sarah is guilty for a fact you best tell me now so we can rethink our trial strategy.”

  “No, no. I’m sure she is innocent. Nate’s way off base. Forget what he thinks.”

  “Okay. But I sure hope nobody’s holding out on me. I can’t tell you how disastrous something like that could be to Sarah.”

  “I know,” Tom said. “Believe me. I know.”