justice. It also didn’t hurt if you had a case that was getting the attention of the national media.
I knew after spending the first ten minutes with her that she was going to be worth every penny Elliot would pay her. She would be double trouble for the prosecution. Her personality was going to win over the jury, and her facts were going to seal the deal. So much of trial work comes down to who is testifying, not what the testimony actually reveals. It’s about selling your case to the jury, and Shami could sell burnt matches. The state’s forensic witness was a lab geek with the personality of a test tube. My witness had hosted a television show called Chemically Dependent.
I heard the low hum of recognition in the courtroom as my big-haired witness made her entrance from the back, holding all eyes as she walked up the center aisle, through the gate and across the proving grounds to the witness stand. She wore a navy blue suit that fit her curves snugly and accentuated the cascade of blonde curls over her shoulders. Even Judge Stanton seemed infatuated. He asked the courtroom deputy to get her a glass of water before she had even taken the oath. He hadn’t asked the state’s forensic geek if he had wanted jack shit.
After she gave her name and spelled it and took the oath to tell nothing but the truth, I got up with my legal pad and went to the lectern.
“Good afternoon, Dr. Arslanian. How are you?”
“I’m doin’ just fine. Thanks for asking.”
There was a slight trace of a southern accent in her voice.
“Before we go over your curriculum vitae, I want to get something out of the way up front. You are a paid consultant to the defense, is that correct?”
“Yes, that is correct. I’m paid to be here, not paid to testify to anything other than my own opinion – whether it’s in line with the defense or not. That’s my deal and I never change it.”
“Okay, tell us where you are from, Doctor.”
“I live in Ossining, New York, right now. I was born and raised in Florida and spent a lot of years in the Boston area, going to different schools here and there.”
“Shamiram Arslanian. That doesn’t sound like a Florida name.”
She smiled brilliantly.
“My father is one hundred percent Armenian. So I guess that makes me half Armenian and half Floridian. My father said I was Armageddian when I was a girl.”
Many in the courtroom chuckled politely.
“What is your background in forensic sciences?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve got two related degrees. I got my master’s at MIT – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – and that is in chemical engineering. I then got a PhD in criminology and that was awarded to me from John Jay College in New York.”
“When you say ‘awarded,’ does that mean it’s an honorary degree?”
“Hell, no,” she said forcefully. “I worked my butt off two years to get that sucker.”
This time laughter broke out across the courtroom and I noticed that even the judge smiled before politely tapping his gavel one time for order.
“I saw on your résumé that you have two undergraduate degrees as well. Is that true?”
“I’ve got two of everything, it seems. Two kids. Two cars. I’ve even got two cats at home, named Wilbur and Orville.”
I glanced over at the prosecution table and saw that Golantz and his second were staring straight forward and had not so much as cracked a smile. I then checked the jury and saw all twenty-four eyes holding on my witness with rapt attention. She had them eating out of her hand and she hadn’t even started yet.
“What are your undergraduate degrees?”
“I got one from Harvard in engineering and one from the Berklee College of Music. I went to both schools at the same time.”
“You have a music degree?” I said with feigned surprise.
“I like to sing.”
More laughter. The hits kept coming. One surprise after another. Shami Arslanian was the perfect witness.
Golantz finally stood and addressed the judge.
“Your Honor, the state would ask that the witness provide testimony regarding forensics and not music or pet names or things not germane to the serious nature of this trial.”
The judge grudgingly asked me to keep my examination on point. Golantz sat down. He had won the point but lost the position. Everybody in the room now viewed him as a spoilsport, stealing what little levity there was in such a serious matter.