Lyssa_Marie
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2008
- Posts
- 794
After the last two weeks of an assault trial that was nothing more than endless bickering between the defense and the prosecuting attorneys, thirty two year old Jeanette Park was looking forward to a hopeful few days off. Having to take over the case when the original defense attorney fell ill when the trial was still heated, she had to have nerves of steel on the outside to cover up for how frazzled she was needing to gather what evidence and testimony was available, analyze it, and be able to present it within a barely 24 hour mark.
Had it not been for the prosecution's witness having bungled the investigation, the defense would have either lost or likely end up with a hung jury. The news reports and media had a field day with that one.
Though she had been with the Law Firm of Ridley & Fielding in the heart of the city for nearly three years, she couldn't help but wonder if the higher up partners were going to take her seriously. One can graduate with honors and intern with the best of the bunch to learn the ropes but even with such accolades, passing her bar exam, and able to take on cases with some losses, victories, and barely victories. But even in a field with such accomplishments, there were days when Jeanette found it stressful to not being taken seriously. Being mistaken for someone younger at first glance can be flattering but it often puts her at a disadvantage.
At a quarter to 6pm, Jeanette was ready to pack her things in her office when she heard someone knocking at her door frame.
"Andrew," she smiled at one of the main partners of the firm. "I was just gonna ask if you want to hit the pub after I finish up. A little alcohol wouldn't hurt after that Denton case."
That enthusiasm faded when she noticed that he looked a little nervous as he swung his briefcase casually at his side.
"What's up?" she asked.
Andrew approached Jeanette's desk, putting up with a smile.
"Have to hand it to you Jeanette. If you didn't see through that witness' lies, we would have fucking lost that one. Devlin was ready to drag that one through the whole month if he wanted to."
"Come on, what are you trying to hide now?"
The firm's partner let out a sigh. "Would you mind postponing your mini vacation?"
This was the response that Jeanette dreaded. "What's wrong?"
"Bradenburg in Queens withdrew from the Livingston murder case. Apparently his client had become too much of a hassle. Uncooperative with the detectives, and I guess it was a bad day for them both but it got to the point where he started to stonewall his own lawyer. We've been brought on to represent the suspect. Unfortunately, we all have our hands full with our own cases and I know you're just fresh off from the assault trial. I know how much you've wanted to take on something solo for some time and I think you've earned it. Just that this is a huge high profile case..."
Shit. Jeanette squeezed the corner of her maple wood desk. She couldn't help but admit to herself that this was one of the few cases she was hoping to not get involved in. In its early days, she couldn't help but hoped that whoever represented the murder suspect had a damn bullet proof vest underneath. Still, taking on something of this magnitude may be able to prove her worth.
"You know that we've got your back if you run in to some trouble, especially with this one."
"I'll take it," she replied.
Impressed with her willingness to take on such a case, Andrew smiled and placed the briefcase in front of her.
"These are the files Bradenburg was able to retrieve from the reports and preliminary hearing. A few testimonies from witnesses who were there after Livingston's body was discovered. The suspect's one might be hard to read."
"Illegible text?"
"Bradenburg writes well. Just that if you read it and listen to the recordings, the suspect likes to subtly change his story every single time. If that idiot can't be consistent with what happened, he's basically begging the judge to throw him in jail."
Jeanette opened the briefcase and began to read the pages of the testimony stapled together while she listened to Andrew carry on.
"Trial won't be for several months while Clay Iverson is trying to get the authorities to find some hard evidence. Not to mention the time the suspect wasted on messing with Bradenburg. So far, all prosecution is just hearsay testimony and a suspect with a criminal past."
"Clay Iverson?" Jeanette's eyebrows raised at the sound of the district attorney's name. The very few prosecutors who were able to win out a case against her and the most hard assed to debate on.
"Guess the name still stings huh?" Andrew chuckled. "Probably wouldn't be surprising that Judge Hawthrone will be the one presiding over the trial."
As he turned to leave her office, he turned around. "Your new client will be coming in at six. You'll be the only one left here. Make sure you lock up when you leave, huh?"
"Mmm." Jeanette tried to contain herself. It wasn't too common for suspects of his caliber to literally meet in her office for they were usually in police custody by the time they were marked as such.
Still, the idea of being alone with a murder suspect who wasn't in police custody for the time being was a little nerve wracking.
Had it not been for the prosecution's witness having bungled the investigation, the defense would have either lost or likely end up with a hung jury. The news reports and media had a field day with that one.
Though she had been with the Law Firm of Ridley & Fielding in the heart of the city for nearly three years, she couldn't help but wonder if the higher up partners were going to take her seriously. One can graduate with honors and intern with the best of the bunch to learn the ropes but even with such accolades, passing her bar exam, and able to take on cases with some losses, victories, and barely victories. But even in a field with such accomplishments, there were days when Jeanette found it stressful to not being taken seriously. Being mistaken for someone younger at first glance can be flattering but it often puts her at a disadvantage.
At a quarter to 6pm, Jeanette was ready to pack her things in her office when she heard someone knocking at her door frame.
"Andrew," she smiled at one of the main partners of the firm. "I was just gonna ask if you want to hit the pub after I finish up. A little alcohol wouldn't hurt after that Denton case."
That enthusiasm faded when she noticed that he looked a little nervous as he swung his briefcase casually at his side.
"What's up?" she asked.
Andrew approached Jeanette's desk, putting up with a smile.
"Have to hand it to you Jeanette. If you didn't see through that witness' lies, we would have fucking lost that one. Devlin was ready to drag that one through the whole month if he wanted to."
"Come on, what are you trying to hide now?"
The firm's partner let out a sigh. "Would you mind postponing your mini vacation?"
This was the response that Jeanette dreaded. "What's wrong?"
"Bradenburg in Queens withdrew from the Livingston murder case. Apparently his client had become too much of a hassle. Uncooperative with the detectives, and I guess it was a bad day for them both but it got to the point where he started to stonewall his own lawyer. We've been brought on to represent the suspect. Unfortunately, we all have our hands full with our own cases and I know you're just fresh off from the assault trial. I know how much you've wanted to take on something solo for some time and I think you've earned it. Just that this is a huge high profile case..."
Shit. Jeanette squeezed the corner of her maple wood desk. She couldn't help but admit to herself that this was one of the few cases she was hoping to not get involved in. In its early days, she couldn't help but hoped that whoever represented the murder suspect had a damn bullet proof vest underneath. Still, taking on something of this magnitude may be able to prove her worth.
"You know that we've got your back if you run in to some trouble, especially with this one."
"I'll take it," she replied.
Impressed with her willingness to take on such a case, Andrew smiled and placed the briefcase in front of her.
"These are the files Bradenburg was able to retrieve from the reports and preliminary hearing. A few testimonies from witnesses who were there after Livingston's body was discovered. The suspect's one might be hard to read."
"Illegible text?"
"Bradenburg writes well. Just that if you read it and listen to the recordings, the suspect likes to subtly change his story every single time. If that idiot can't be consistent with what happened, he's basically begging the judge to throw him in jail."
Jeanette opened the briefcase and began to read the pages of the testimony stapled together while she listened to Andrew carry on.
"Trial won't be for several months while Clay Iverson is trying to get the authorities to find some hard evidence. Not to mention the time the suspect wasted on messing with Bradenburg. So far, all prosecution is just hearsay testimony and a suspect with a criminal past."
"Clay Iverson?" Jeanette's eyebrows raised at the sound of the district attorney's name. The very few prosecutors who were able to win out a case against her and the most hard assed to debate on.
"Guess the name still stings huh?" Andrew chuckled. "Probably wouldn't be surprising that Judge Hawthrone will be the one presiding over the trial."
As he turned to leave her office, he turned around. "Your new client will be coming in at six. You'll be the only one left here. Make sure you lock up when you leave, huh?"
"Mmm." Jeanette tried to contain herself. It wasn't too common for suspects of his caliber to literally meet in her office for they were usually in police custody by the time they were marked as such.
Still, the idea of being alone with a murder suspect who wasn't in police custody for the time being was a little nerve wracking.
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