Afternoon Delight - By Mia Zachary Page 0,50
enter Judge Orr’s chambers alone. He sat at his desk, scratching notes on a legal pad, but looked up as she came in. His craggy face appeared more stern than usual and Rei took it as a bad sign when she wasn’t invited to sit.
“I assume you know about the situation at the YGC.” It was a statement, rather than a question. “Your decision in the case will be reviewed, of course.”
Rei’s stomach clenched. In the wake of another judge’s personal misconduct, she had no doubts as to the scrutiny she was about to come under. It was bad enough she was questioning herself. Now each and every decision would be open to criticism.
“As for your other cases, I’d suggest a zero-tolerance policy—hold firm and if need be fix it later. For now, I think it would be better to err on the cautious side. All right, Commissioner Davis, that’s all. Except to remind you that your only comment to the press should be ‘no comment.’”
Rei nodded stiffly. “Yes, sir.”
She turned and walked out, keeping her head down and her mouth shut as she fought her way to her own chambers. She thanked Bill, who promised to get some backup to keep order outside her courtroom, then turned to Mary Alice.
“I want the transcript of the Grayson proceedings.”
“I’m sure Judge Orr has already ordered it, Commissioner, but I’ll make sure you get a copy.”
Rei dumped her purse and briefcase on the small couch and began to pace. “I want mine as soon as possible. I need to see—I have to be sure—”
Mary Alice stepped in front of her to get her full attention. “I’ve been in the system for a long time and worked for a lot of judges. You’re never sure. You just trust your instincts and the law and make the best decision you can.”
“Did I make the best decision? I can think of two dozen people, those boys and their families, who could argue otherwise.”
“Everybody makes mistakes, Commissioner. But don’t forget the good we do here as well, okay? Now, I’ll let you have a few minutes to get yourself together, but after that you’ve got to take the bench. We’re already behind schedule.”
Mary Alice closed the door behind her, but Rei could still hear the chaos out in the halls. She walked over to the window and stared out; however, all she could see was Bruce Grayson. The way he’d hung his head, the tears that clouded his dark eyes, the terror she thought she’d seen in his twelve-year-old face.
Do you regret your decision, Commissioner?
Commissioner, do you feel responsible?
Hell, yes, she felt responsible. Didn’t she always?
THE SAND she was usually able to shovel against the tide threatened to swamp her today.
The morning sped by, due in part to several requests for postponement. Rei recognized the tactic as a way for lawyers to have their cases reassigned to other courtrooms. She also recognized her own inability to concentrate. She considered herself a good judge of character, but today she had to question every innocent expression and statement of regret.
When Mary Alice called the last case before lunch, Rei was more than ready for a break. She wasn’t going to get one. Acid churned in her gut as she watched Assistant State’s Attorney Frank Dowd step up to the prosecutor’s table. Something flickered in his gaze, impertinence perhaps? Derision and disappointment, certainly. Rei looked away.
Instead she picked up the file and flipped through it unnecessarily. “Okay, next we have the case of Gabriel Russo with the charge of threatening. I see Mr. Dowd for the State. And the defense would be?”
“Lukas Simon, Your Honor.” A short, curly haired man stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. “We’re looking to have the matter dropped. The whole thing’s been blown out of proportion.”
Maybe it had; maybe it hadn’t. But the school and local authorities took any threat of violence very seriously in light of the incidents at Columbine and in Redlake, Minnesota.
“You know I can’t do that, Mr. Simon.” Rei ignored Dowd’s smug look. “I see here in the file that the State’s charges are based on a Web site—”
“Actually, posts to a Web log called Out The Airlock,” Frank Dowd corrected.
“Thank you, blog entries as well as a handwritten list of fellow students.”
“Yes, Your Honor. The State intends to prove that Gabriel Russo published threats against the people on his hit list—”
“Objection!” Lukas Simon then stood and addressed the prosecutor. “A hit list? Come on, Frank. For all the