A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,179
the bench, with Jake, and whispered to the judge that the State would like to introduce four photos taken during the autopsy. This was no surprise because Dyer had produced the photos in a pretrial hearing. Noose, as usual, deferred a ruling until that moment. He looked at the photos again, shook his head, and said, away from the mike, “I don’t think so. This jury has seen enough of the blood and gore. The defense’s objection is sustained.”
It was obvious that His Honor was troubled by the crime scene photos and their gruesomeness.
Dyer switched to a rather cartoonish diagram of a generic corpse and put it on the screen. For an hour, Dr. Majeski belabored the obvious. Using far too many medical terms and jargon, he bored the courtroom with testimony that proved, beyond any doubt, that the deceased died of a single bullet wound to the head, one that blew away most of the right side of his skull.
As he droned on, Jake couldn’t help but think of Earl and Janet Kofer, seated not far away, and their pain at hearing such details about their son’s fatal injury. And as always when he thought of the parents, he reminded himself that he was fighting to keep a kid away from the gas chamber. Now was not the time for sympathy.
When Dyer mercifully tendered the witness, Jake jumped to his feet and stepped to the podium. “Dr. Majeski, did you draw a sample of blood from the deceased?”
“Of course. That is standard practice.”
“And did this sample reveal anything significant?”
“Such as?”
“Such as the level of alcohol in his system?”
“It did.”
“Now, for the benefit of the jury, and for me as well, could you please explain how one’s alcohol level is measured.”
“Certainly. The blood alcohol concentration, better known as BAC, is the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream, or in urine, or on one’s breath. It is expressed as the weight of ethanol, or alcohol, in grams, the metric unit, in one hundred milliliters of blood.”
“Let’s keep this simple, Doctor. The legal limit for drunk driving in Mississippi is point-one-zero BAC. What does that mean?”
“Sure, it means point-one-zero grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood.”
“Okay. Thank you. Now what was Stuart Kofer’s BAC?”
“It was quite significant. Point-three-six grams per hundred.”
“Point-three-six?”
“That’s correct.”
“So, the deceased was three and a half times over the legal limit for driving?”
“Yes sir.”
Juror number four, a white man of fifty-five, glanced at juror number five, a white man of fifty-eight. Juror number eight, a white woman, appeared shocked. Joey Kepner shook his head slightly in disbelief.
“Now, Dr. Majeski, for how long had Mr. Kofer been dead before you drew a sample of his blood?”
“Approximately twelve hours.”
“And, is it possible that during that twelve-hour period the alcohol level could have actually decreased?”
“Unlikely.”
“But it’s possible?”
“That’s unlikely, but no one really knows. It’s rather hard to measure, for obvious reasons.”
“Okay, let’s stick with point-three-six. Did you weigh the body?”
“I did, as always. That’s standard procedure.”
“And how much did he weigh?”
“One hundred and ninety-seven pounds.”
“He was thirty-three years old and weighed one ninety-seven, right?”
“Correct, but his age should not be factored in.”
“Okay, let’s forget his age. For a man his size, and with that much alcohol, how would you describe his ability to operate a vehicle?”
Dyer stood and said, “Objection, Your Honor. This goes beyond the scope of his testimony. I’m not sure this expert is qualified to give such an opinion.”
His Honor looked down at the witness and asked, “Dr. Majeski, are you qualified for this?”
He smiled with arrogance and said, “Yes, I am.”
“Objection overruled. You may answer the question.”
“Well, Mr. Brigance, I certainly wouldn’t want to be in the car with him.”
This drew a few brief smiles from some of the jurors.
“Nor would I, Doctor. Would you describe him as being completely impaired?”
“That would be a non-medical term, but, yes.”
“And what are the other effects of so much alcohol, sir, in non-medical terms?”
“Devastating. Loss of physical coordination. Greatly reduced reflexes. Walking or even standing would require assistance. Slurred or indistinguishable speech. Nausea, vomiting. Disorientation. Severe increases in heart rate. Irregular breathing. Loss of bladder control. Memory loss. Perhaps even unconsciousness.”
Jake flipped a page on his legal pad to allow these frightening effects to rattle around the courtroom. Then he stepped to the defense table and picked up some papers. Slowly, he returned to the podium and said, “Now, Dr. Majeski, you said you’ve performed over two thousand autopsies in your distinguished career.”