I asked if you had anything more to add.”
“I'm sorry, Your Honor. The brief adequately represents our position, though perhaps understates the passion with which we hold it.”
“I'm suitably impressed,” says Hatchet. “Mr. Wallace?”
“Our response papers are complete, Your Honor.” Wallace is the type who would go up to high school teachers and thank them for a fair and well-thought-out final exam. “We believe that cases with far greater public awareness have managed to empanel impartial juries without much difficulty.”
“I am inclined to agree with that,” Hatchet says.
“Your Honor,” I jump in, trying to stem the tide. “Our papers demonstrate media coverage both inside and outside this community in great detail. We feel—”
He interrupts me. “ ‘Great detail’ is an understatement. I would appreciate it if you would be more concise in the future. But look at the bright side, Mr. Carpenter. Every motion I deny gives you a future grounds for appeal.”
“We would rather get a not guilty verdict in the first place, Your Honor.”
“Then present your best case. What's next?”
“The matter of Robert Hinton, Mr. Miller's so-called counsel in the first trial,” I say.
Hatchet nods and takes off his glasses. He's heard all about this, so he looks at Wallace.
“This can't be true, can it?”
Wallace replies, “I'm afraid our information shows that it is, Your Honor. We cannot find Mr. Hinton, but there is no record that he was ever a member of the bar.”
“How could that happen?”
“We're still looking into it. But it appears that Mr. Miller hired Mr. Hinton independent of the court, and that his credentials were not examined.”
Hatchet turns to me. “Is this consistent with your understanding of the facts?”
I take a quick look at Willie before I answer. “Yes, Your Honor, but our major concern is not with my client's representation, or lack of it, in the first trial, as terrible as it was. That verdict has already been set aside.”
Hatchet seems surprised to hear this. “Then exactly what is your concern?”
Here goes. “Your Honor, we believe this is evidence that a conspiracy existed at the time of the murder, and continues to this day, so as to protect certain powerful interests. We would request substantial leeway to deal with this matter at trial.”
“Do you have any other evidence of this conspiracy?” Hatchet is obviously skeptical, as I knew he would be.
“We are developing it, Your Honor.”
Wallace chimes in. “Your Honor, granting the defense's request would be providing them a license to conduct a time-consuming fishing expedition. The state would suggest that when and if the information is developed that it be presented to the court for admissibility.”
I expect Hatchet to agree with Wallace, but instead he turns to me. “Mr. Carpenter, was Mr. Hinton paid for his services?”
“Not by my client, Your Honor. Hinton represented himself as a public defender, assigned by the court. My client, having never before been charged with a crime, did not have the sophistication to realize that he was the victim of a conspiracy.”
Hatchet seems very troubled by this. “Mr. Wallace, we have here an extraordinary circumstance in which a fraud was perpetrated on the court in a capital case. Since we can safely assume that most lawyers, even fake ones, have at least some financial self-interest, then it seems quite credible to surmise that Mr. Hinton was put up to this by a person or persons, other than the defendant, prepared to pay for his services.”
“It is a long jump from that to evidence of the defendant's innocence,” Wallace says.
Hatchet nods. “That's true, and Mr. Carpenter, I am not going to allow wild Colombian death squad testimony.” This is a reference to the defense mounted in the Simpson case. “But I will be inclined to grant some leeway. We'll take it on an issue-by-issue basis.”
“Thank you, Your Honor.” It's not a victory, but it's a hell of a lot better than I expected, and Wallace looks a little surprised.
Hatchet continues moving things right along, turning to Wallace. “I believe there are DNA issues we need to address?”
“The state has submitted its intentions in this regard. Additional tests are being conducted right now.”
Hatchet nods. “Mr. Carpenter, if you are requesting a Kelly-Frye, I suggest you do so as soon as possible.”
“Your Honor,” I reply, “we respectfully point out that we cannot begin to decide whether to challenge evidence until we see that evidence.”
I've already decided not to ask for the Kelly-Frye, but by delaying announcement of that decision I might give us more time to prepare for