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Bliley motioned them all forward.
Jack handed the document to Bliley. “Mr. Washington signed this in my presence at the jail. Put me under oath and I’ll swear to it, and my client will do the same.” He looked sternly at Battle. “And put him under oath and let him swear that forgery is my client’s signature.”
Bliley said, “Mr. Battle, you mentioned you were told the defendant signed this?”
“Yes. If there is any discrepancy, I’m sure it can be explained.”
“I wish I was as sure as you,” said Bliley doubtfully.
“That fact notwithstanding, I also need to object to Miss DuBose serving as co-counsel, which still leaves us with Mr. Lee being inadequate to try this case.”
“On what grounds do you object?” asked a clearly puzzled Bliley. “She is more than competent to be defense counsel on this matter. And Mr. Lee can assuredly waive her in as local counsel, since I do not agree that a Virginia lawyer must represent a Virginia defendant at the trial level. I myself litigated such cases in New York after being waived in by local counsel, since I was admitted only in New Jersey at the time.”
“I understand, Your Honor. However, the problem is actually due to her race.”
“Excuse me?” exclaimed DuBose. “You can’t be serious. A Black attorney can try cases in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Keeping his gaze on Bliley, Virginia’s highest-ranking lawyer said, “A Negro lawyer representing a Negro defendant accused of killing two prominent white people? There is a great deal of prejudice surrounding this case and I don’t want to add to it.”
“You’re going to need to explain that, sir,” demanded Bliley.
“While it pains me to say so, Your Honor, if we can’t find a qualified white attorney to represent Mr. Washington, there is not a white juror in this entire area who will be able to objectively judge his guilt, or, in the tiniest of probabilities, his innocence. They will simply assume he is guilty because no white lawyer would take the case. And while we believe him to be guilty and the evidence for that is overwhelming, I have a reputation of being scrupulously fair in my dealings before the bar.”
“Really, like Mr. Washington’s signature that wasn’t?” interjected Jack.
Battle ignored this and continued, “And the last thing that I would want is the race of Mr. Washington’s counsel to be the deciding factor. One need only look around and see the state of this country today. There is a lot of anger on both sides. And we ignore that reality to the peril of Mr. Washington. And while Mr. Lee and Miss DuBose may be willing to risk a man’s freedom on that, I am not. Ironically, I find myself playing defense counsel right now, standing my ground in support of the defendant’s right to a fair trial. I would hope that opposing counsel understands my position, seeing as how I’m trying my best to do right by their client.”
Well, that was slickly done, thought Jack. When he looked at DuBose, he could tell she was most likely thinking the same thing.
“All right, Mr. Battle, I see your point,” noted Bliley.
DuBose said, “Your Honor, I have defended Black people in front of white juries all across the South. And I have also won more times than I have lost. Which directly cuts against the argument Mr. Battle is attempting to make here.”
Jack added, “And I obviously am a white lawyer. And might I also add that the white public defender that represented Mr. Washington at his arraignment abruptly resigned shortly thereafter. And there were no other white lawyers apparently willing to defend Mr. Washington. So it strikes me as quite odd that Mr. Battle can apparently summon a legion of them at the drop of a hat. And besides that, Mr. Washington’s family has already paid me monies to defend him. And surely a defendant should be able to choose his attorney.”
Bliley said, “All right, Mr. Lee. Those are all valid points.”
“Then let me make another one, Judge. If the standard is competency, then I would respectfully argue that competency also includes a sincere belief in a client’s right to a fair trial, and a sincere desire to win the case. Contrast that with Mr. Battle being ready and willing to entrust the fate of a man to an attorney who already believed him to be guilty. Now, Mr. Battle may profess to a high standard before this court, but my daddy always taught me that words are cheap and actions are dear.”
“Your Honor—” began Battle, but Bliley waved him off.
“Step back, all of you.”
They returned to their respective counsel tables and Bliley said, “The commonwealth’s motion to replace defense counsel is denied. It is clear to this court that defense counsel, on a collective basis, can provide competent legal representation, and that the defendant is not indigent and is entitled to the attorney of his choosing. Coupled with the fact that the commonwealth is unable to validate the document that the defendant allegedly signed,” he added with a piercing glance at Battle. “Mr. Lee, do you desire to waive Miss DuBose into this court for purposes of this case?”
“I do, Judge.”
“Have you filed the necessary paperwork to do so and paid the required fees?”
“We have, Judge.”
“Then let’s proceed with the formalities.”
Jack said the requisite words, and DuBose added her accompanying piece.
Bliley declared, “Miss DuBose, you are duly admitted into the Circuit Court of Freeman County, Virginia, on a pro hac vice basis for the sole purpose of serving as co-counsel for the defense in the matter of Commonwealth versus Jerome R. Washington. Court is dismissed.” He banged his gavel and scooted back into his chambers.
As Jack and DuBose were preparing to leave, Battle strolled over to them.
