Unintended Consequences - By Marti Green

Chapter

16





Twenty-One Days


The LaGrange County Courthouse stood on a tree-lined street in the center of town. The ornate three-story building with a cylindrical steeple in the center reminded Dani of movies depicting small-town America in the ’40s and ’50s. It seemed as far removed from the clamor of Manhattan as a place could be. She’d been standing outside courtroom 215 for a half-hour, waiting for George’s case to be called.

The hearing on her motion for a court order to exhume the body alleged to be Angelina Calhoun’s was the first case on the morning docket. She and Melanie had arrived in LaGrange the night before. Although just a local superior court, far removed from the majesty and formality of the United States Supreme Court, Melanie had peppered her with questions last night as if she would be arguing before that austere body. And while this lower court was usually not the final arbiter of justice, the right to exhume the dead child’s body might make the difference between life and death for George Calhoun.

Dani had argued motions or appeals dozens of times, maybe hundreds, yet each time she stood before a judge or a panel of judges, she needed to remind herself to calm down. She usually did settle her nerves once she actually started speaking. Even interruptions from the bench didn’t rattle her train of thought. But at the beginning, as she’d rise from her seat, she’d feel the dampness of her hands and the quickening of her heartbeat.

At five minutes before 10, she and Melanie headed into the courtroom. Their motion papers had been submitted, and the LaGrange County prosecuting attorney had filed his objections. Almost immediately after Dani sat at the table in front of the court reserved for defendants’ counsel, a middle-aged man wearing a brown tweed suit that seemed much too warm for the balmy spring day approached her.

“Ms. Trumball, I presume,” he said as he held out his hand. “I’m Ted Landry.”

“That’s me,” she answered as she shook his hand. “And this is my associate, Melanie Quinn.”

“I must say I was surprised to get your papers. It’s a bit late in the game, don’t you think?”

Dani shrugged. “Well, I certainly wish we had more time on the clock. But as long as the clock is still ticking, there’s still time to uncover the truth.”

“Or,” he said with a smile, “to throw monkey wrenches in the path of the truth.”

He turned as the bailiff entered the courtroom. They knew the judge would be close behind him. “Well, good luck to you, Ms. Trumball. May the truth win out.” He headed back to the prosecutor’s table just before Judge Edwards entered the courtroom.

“All rise,” intoned the bailiff, and everyone in the courtroom did as instructed. “You may be seated,” he said after Judge Edwards had settled himself in his leather swivel chair behind the raised bench.

“People against George Calhoun,” he called.

Dani answered, “Ms. Trumball for the defendant.”

“Mr. Landry for the state.”

Judge Edwards looked over at her table. “You have a motion before me, Ms. Trumball. I’ve read the papers, yours and the state’s. Is there anything else you’d like to add?”

She stood up. “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Well, now, before you get started, let me tell you what I’m thinking. I’ve read the cases you’ve put in your brief, but I have to say this just looks like a Hail Mary to me. Your client’s been in prison over seventeen years and he’s first asking to do DNA testing on the child’s body?”

“Your Honor, I agree this appears to be late in the game, but my client notified his prior attorney at least five years ago of the reasons for exhuming the body claimed to be his daughter, and that attorney failed to follow through. It was a clear dereliction of his duty to defend his client diligently.”

“Well, then, it seems to me you have a basis for attorney misconduct, but that’s not the motion before me.”

“I’ll be filing an application for a writ of habeas corpus with the district court, but with execution scheduled for only three weeks away, you can appreciate the urgency of finding out just who’s buried in that grave. If it’s not Angelina Calhoun, then—well, the implications are obvious.”

Landry stood up. “Your Honor, if I may. There are so many holes in this motion it’s leaking water all over the floor. And the mess can be mopped up with a single word: laches.”

It was the argument Dani expected. It was based on the concept that fairness dictated that people shouldn’t be allowed to procrastinate in asserting their rights. She had prepared for that claim. “Your Honor. Laches only applies when an adverse party has been prejudiced. The state can hardly claim that they’ve been hurt by the delay. They have no vested interest in seeing an innocent man put to death.”

Landry quickly responded. “The state certainly does have an interest in finality. The Supreme Court has recognized that interest. The defendant had ample opportunity to ask that this body be exhumed and the child’s DNA tested. Seventeen years of opportunity. This motion is nothing but a delaying tactic while they attempt to convince the federal courts to undo his conviction. An attempt I’m sure will be as unsuccessful as his previous appeals.”

Dani started to speak, but Judge Edwards held up his hand. “Ms. Trumball, I’m sure your motion is well-meaning, but I have to agree with the state here. Your client should have spoken up at his trial.”

“But Your Honor—”

“I know what you’re going to say. I told you I read your papers. He was afraid his daughter wouldn’t get the medical care she needed if he spoke up. Frankly, I find that story to be highly incredible. Motion denied,” he said and called the next case.


Although disappointed, Dani was neither surprised nor discouraged. She’d already prepared an appeal in anticipation of this ruling. She just needed Judge Edwards’s written order to append to her papers and she’d be ready to file.

“Do you believe that guy?” Melanie fumed as they walked out of the courtroom. “He barely let you say a word. It didn’t matter what you were going to say—he’d already made up his mind.”

“I knew it was a long shot with this judge. He has a reputation for being tough on crime. He’s up for election next year and probably doesn’t want to be known as the man who helped George Calhoun get out of prison.”

“But the only way his ruling would get George out of prison is if it turns out the body isn’t his daughter. How could setting an innocent man free hurt the judge?”

They didn’t teach young lawyers about courtroom politics. Melanie still held the notion that justice was the guiding principle for all officers of the court. She needed to toughen up and come to terms with the real world. “Look, it’s all about winning for everyone. The prosecuting attorney wants to win a conviction. She’ll convince herself that weak evidence shouldn’t stand in the way of removing criminals from the street. Maybe she’ll hold back something that might help the defense even though she knows she shouldn’t. Maybe she’ll coach a witness whose memory isn’t the best with what to say. The defense counsel convinces himself that the Constitution requires due process for even the lowest scum, and the Supreme Court has said that includes the right to adequate counsel. So he’ll use just as many backhanded tactics to win an acquittal and assuage his conscience by believing he’s upholding the Constitution. The judge wants to win reelection and so she’ll choose to play it safe. Don’t get me wrong. There are great judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys committed to performing their roles with integrity and passion. But you have to realize there are too many of the other kind as well.”

“Okay. So assume this judge wants to play it safe. I still don’t see how ordering exhumation is risky.”

“Let’s say he ordered the exhumation and the DNA test comes back proving she’s Angelina Calhoun. Now the press is all over him for allowing this horrible murderer another chance, for delaying the justice they’ve all been waiting for. Edwards is a coward. He doesn’t want to risk looking like he favors defendants. He knows we’ll appeal, and if he’s right in denying the order, it proves how smart he is. And if he’s overturned, well, then, townsfolk can feel comfortable that he’s a tough judge.”

Melanie shook her head. Dani knew how she felt: disgusted. She had experienced it many times, both as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and working at HIPP. Law school didn’t prepare hopeful attorneys for the vagaries of judicial decision. The study of law was devoid of politics, of pettiness, of bad judges and incompetent attorneys. There was a purity to the study of law that Dani loved. Over the years, she’d come to terms with the messiness in the real life practice of law.

They headed to Judge Edwards’s office. A young woman sat at a desk outside his chambers. Dani handed her a business card. “Good morning. We just came from Judge Edwards’s courtroom on the People v. George Calhoun case. I’d like to make sure we get a copy of the judge’s decision as quickly as possible.”

She looked at the card. “I’m sure everyone wants the decision as soon as possible. It usually takes about a week, sometimes longer, depending on his calendar.”

Secretaries were the gatekeepers. If this one wasn’t on Dani’s side, she could delay typing up a decision out of spite. “I appreciate how busy everyone is. But my client is facing execution in three weeks. For a crime we don’t believe he committed.”

The young woman stared at her and sighed. “All right. I’ll see what I can do.”

“You are an angel of mercy,” Dani said and thanked her.

“What now?” Melanie asked as they left the clerk’s office.

“Now we pray Tommy comes up with something.”