A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,206

happening in the jury room was mesmerizing.

Obviously, Jake was far more pleased with her story than Lowell.

She continued, “Personally, I don’t think he should be on the jury. He is a bully and tries to intimidate us, especially the women, which is why he and Joey are clashing. He’s abusive and vulgar and dismissive of any argument he disagrees with. I don’t think he approached his jury service with an open and impartial mind.”

Noose could not remove a juror until he or she did something wrong, and swearing to be impartial while holding a secret bias was not unusual.

He said, “Thank you, Ms. Elmore. In your opinion, will it be possible for this jury to reach a unanimous verdict?”

She actually laughed at the judge, not out of disrespect, but out of surprise at such an absurd question. “Sorry, Judge. But no. First we went through all the exhibits, like you said, then we read the instructions again, just like you told us to. And this one guy, same guy, started pushing for a vote. Finally, after lunch, and after he and Joey were separated the first time, we voted.”

“And?”

“Six–six, Judge, with no wiggle room anywhere. We’re even sitting on opposite sides of the table now. You can keep us here until the cows come home, but it’s a hard six–six. Me, I won’t vote to convict that boy of anything, not after what Kofer did to them.”

The judge showed her his palms and said, “That’s enough. Thank you again, Ms. Elmore. You are free to go.”

“Back to the jury room?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Judge, please, I really don’t want to go back in there. I can’t stand that nasty man and I’m tired of him. All of us are, even the ones who agree with him. It’s pretty toxic in there, Judge.”

“Well, we have to keep trying, don’t we?”

“There’s gonna be a fight, I’m warning you.”

“Thank you.”

After she left, Noose nodded at the court reporter who hustled out of the room too. Alone with the lawyers, Noose relit his pipe, blew some smoke, and looked thoroughly defeated.

He said, “I’m looking for some brilliant advice, gentlemen.”

Dyer, eager to salvage his case, said, “Why not excuse Kepner and the bad guy and replace them with the two alternates?”

Noose nodded. It was a decent idea. “Jake?”

“Kepner is obviously in our camp and he’s done nothing wrong. That might be a tough one to defend on appeal.”

“Agreed,” said Noose. “They were properly chosen. I can’t dismiss them because they’re arguing too strenuously. We can’t quit after only three hours of deliberation, gentlemen. Let’s meet in the courtroom in five minutes.”

With great effort, Jake managed to continue to suppress a smile as he entered the courtroom and sat next to his client. He leaned back and whispered to Portia, “Six–six.” Her jaw dropped before she caught herself.

There were no smiles either from the jurors as they filed in and took their seats. Noose watched them carefully and when they were settled, he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the court has been advised that you appear to be deadlocked.”

There were noises from the spectators—gasps, murmurs, shifting.

His Honor then unloaded what was commonly referred to as the Dynamite Charge: “Each of you took an oath to weigh the evidence with an open and impartial mind, to bring no personal biases or preferences into the courtroom, and to follow the law as I have given it to you. I now instruct you to return to your deliberations and do your duty. I want each of you, regardless of how you now feel about this case, to begin anew from the position of accepting the opposing view. For a moment, look at the other side and tell yourselves that it might just be the correct one. If you now believe Drew Gamble to be guilty, then, for a moment, tell yourself that he is not, and defend that position. Same if you believe he is not guilty. Look at the other side. Accept the other arguments. Go back to square one, all of you, and begin a new round of deliberations with the goal of agreeing on a final, unanimous verdict in this case. We are in no hurry, and if this takes several days then so be it. I have no patience with a hung jury. If you fail, then this case will be tried again, and I assure you that the next jury will not be any smarter, or better informed, or more impartial, than you are. Right now you’re