So what could Rufus want to see him about? he wondered.
CHAPTER FOUR
* * *
As John Fiske rose from the counsel’s table he glanced over at his opponent, Paul Williams. The young assistant commonwealth attorney, or ACA, had just finished confidently stating the particulars of his motion. Fiske whispered, “Your ass is grass, Paulie. You messed up.”
When Fiske turned to face Judge Walters, his manner was one of subdued excitement. Fiske was broad-shouldered, though at six feet he was a couple of inches shorter than his younger brother. And unlike Michael Fiske, his features were far from classically handsome. He had chubby cheeks, a too-sharp chin and a twice-broken nose, one time from high school wrestling, the other time a carryover from his cop days. However, Fiske’s black hair was swept over his forehead in an unkempt manner that somehow managed to be attractive and intimate, and his brown eyes housed an intense core.
“Your Honor, in the interest of not wasting the court’s time, I would like to make an offer in open court to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office regarding its motion. If they agree to withdraw with prejudice and contribute one thousand dollars to the public defender’s fund, I will withdraw my response, not file for sanctions and we can all go home.”
Paul Williams leaped to his feet so quickly his eyeglasses fell off and hit the table. “Your Honor, this is outrageous!”
Judge Walters looked over his crowded courtroom, silently contemplated his equally bulging docket and flicked a weary hand at both men. “Approach.”
At the sidebar, Fiske said, “Judge, I’m only trying to do the commonwealth a favor.”
“The commonwealth doesn’t need favors from Mr. Fiske,” Williams said with disgust.
“Come on, Paulie, a thousand bucks, and you can get a beer before you go back and explain to your boss how you messed up. I’ll even buy you the beer.”
“Not in ten thousand years will you get a dime from us,” Williams said disdainfully.
“Well, Mr. Williams, this motion is a little unusual,” Judge Walters said. In the Richmond criminal courts, motions were heard before or during trial. And there weren’t lengthy briefs attached to them. The sad truth was, most issues of criminal law were well settled. Only in the unusual case in which the judge was unsure of a ruling after he had heard the lawyers’oral arguments would he ask for written briefs to review before making his decision. Thus, Judge Walters was a little bewildered by the unsolicited and lengthy brief filed by the commonwealth.
“I know, Your Honor,” said Williams. “However, as I stated, this is an unusual situation.”
“Unusual?” Fiske said. “Try nuts, Paulie.”
Judge Walters impatiently broke in. “Mr. Fiske, I have admonished you before regarding your unorthodox behavior in my courtroom, and I will not hesitate to find you in contempt if your future actions warrant it. Get on with your response.”
Williams returned to his seat and Fiske stepped to the lectern. “Your Honor, in spite of the fact that the commonwealth’s ‘emergency’ motion was faxed to my office in the middle of the night and I haven’t had time to prepare a truly proper response, I believe that if you would refer to each of the second paragraphs on pages four, six and nine of the commonwealth’s memorandum, you will conclude that the facts relied upon therein, particularly with regard to the defendant’s prior criminal record, the statements of the arresting officers and the two eyewitness accounts at the location of the crime allegedly committed by my client, are unsustainable with the established record in this case. Further, the principal precedent cited by the commonwealth on page ten was very recently overturned by a decision of the Virginia Supreme Court. I’ve attached the pertinent materials to my response and highlighted the discrepancies for your ease of review.”
As Judge Walters examined the file in front of him, Fiske leaned over to Williams and said, “See what happens when you draft this shit in the middle of the night?” Fiske dropped his reply brief in front of Williams. “Since I only had about five minutes to read your brief, I thought I’d return the favor. You can read along with the judge.”