A Time for Mercy (Jake Brigance #3) - John Grisham Page 0,214

is Lowell’s backyard, so it’s out. That leaves Polk and Milburn counties. I’ll pick one in due course and we’ll tee it up there. Any objections?”

Lowell said, “Well, of course, Judge, we’ll oppose any motion for a change of venue.”

Neither side was eager for a rematch. Dyer feared another loss and Jake was worried about a possible bankruptcy.

“Of course you will,” Noose said. “But don’t spend a lot of time opposing it.”

And with that, the court had ruled.

His Honor kept eating and talking. “Not that it matters. We could pick twelve people off the streets in any of the five counties and get the same result. Gentlemen, I’ve thought of little else since the mistrial, and I do not believe any jury will convict this boy, nor will any jury acquit him. I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

Jake nodded and demurred and Dyer said, “Well, we certainly have to try again, don’t we? I can see the same challenges, but I’m confident of getting a conviction.”

The standard response from every prosecutor.

“Jake?”

“I agree with you, Judge. The votes may vary a little, probably not an even split, but a unanimous verdict is not imaginable. The only fact that will change is that Kiera will give birth next month so there’ll be a child. We, of course, will have the blood test to prove it’s Kofer’s.”

“And there’s no chance otherwise?” Dyer asked politely.

“I believe the girl,” Jake said.

“So you’ll lose the ambush angle?”

“Maybe, or maybe I’ll have another one.”

“Gentlemen. We’ll try him again, on December the tenth, and there will be no more ambushes. If the jury cannot agree, then we’ll go from there. No chance of a plea agreement?”

Dyer shook his head and said, “Not now, Judge. I can’t agree to a plea to anything less than capital murder, not for a dead officer.”

“Jake?”

“Same. I can’t ask a sixteen-year-old boy to agree to a deal that gives him the next thirty or so years in prison.”

“I assumed as much. Gentlemen, I see no way out of this mess. The facts are what they are and we can’t change them. We have no choice but to keep trying.”

Jake pushed his sandwich away and reached for some papers. “I guess that brings us to the issue of bail. So far, my client has served five months for nothing. He is, as we all know, presumed to be innocent. The State has tried once to prove him guilty and the State failed. It is not fair to keep him locked up. He is as innocent as we are, not to mention he’s a minor, and he deserves the chance to get out.”

Dyer shook his head as he took a bite.

Noose, surprisingly, said, “This has been on my mind too. It’s troubling.”

“It’s worse than that, Judge. The kid was two years behind in school back in March. As we’ve learned, his education has been rather spotty. He’s now incarcerated far away from any classroom.”

“I thought your wife was working with him.”

“Several hours a week, Judge, and it’s a temporary arrangement at best. It’s not enough. The kid has shown some interest in learning, but he needs to be in a real school with teachers and other kids, and with lots of tutoring after hours.” Jake handed both some paperwork. “This is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus I plan to file on Monday in circuit court. And I’ll ask you, Judge, with all due respect, to recuse yourself. If we fail in circuit court, then I’ll go federal and get some relief. The kid is being unlawfully detained and I can convince a federal judge of that. The petition claims a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment on the grounds that he is a minor being held in an adult facility, and in solitary confinement, and with no access to educational resources. We’ve found two cases on point, from other jurisdictions, and they’re covered in our brief. If we get relief, and get him out, then both of you can blame someone else, and not worry about any political fallout.”

This irritated Noose and he flashed an angry look at Jake. “I don’t think about the politics, Jake.”

“Well, you’re the first politician who doesn’t think about the politics.”

“I’m offended. Do you consider me a politician, Jake?”

“Not really, but your name will be on the ballot next year. Yours too, Lowell.”

“I don’t allow politics to enter my considerations, Jake,” Lowell said, a bit too piously.

“Then why not let