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