‘Umm… just a minute, if I may, Your Honor,’ Oakfield said in return, lifting a tentative finger at the judge.
Sutton got to the bar and handed Oakfield a piece of paper before whispering something into his ear.
‘Mr. Oakfield,’ the judge pushed. ‘My courtroom isn’t a cocktail lounge.’
‘Yes, Your Honor,’ the DA replied, finally swiveling his chair back to face the court again. ‘I sincerely apologize for the interruption.’
From the defense’s table, Nelson and Bryant stared back at Oakfield, worryingly.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Nelson asked, his eyebrows angling awkwardly at his attorney.
‘I’m not sure,’ Bryant replied, with a subtle headshake. ‘But if Leo came running into the courtroom just before I was able to rest our case, it’s probably something bad… for us.’
‘Who the fuck is Leo?’
Before Bryant could reply, Oakfield wiggled the piece of paper that Sutton had handed him at Judge Reeves.
‘Your Honor, if it pleases the court… may we approach?’ His gaze pinged to Tenor Bryant at the defense’s table, who looked death back at him.
Judge Reeves didn’t look happy either, but she still gestured both counsels towards her bench.
‘What’s happening here?’ she immediately asked Oakfield, cupping a hand over the courtroom microphone on her desk.
Oakfield used a handkerchief to dab his neck and forehead, which were covered in beads of sweat. His cheeks were constantly a light shade of pink, regardless of how hot or cold it was, and he always seemed to be about two breaths away from needing an oxygen tank. In all honesty, Oakfield looked nothing like the ruthless prosecutor that he was.
‘Your Honor,’ he began. ‘I know that this is as late in a trial as it can possibly be, but since neither the prosecution nor the defense have officially rested our cases, I was wondering if you would allow me one final witness before you adjourn proceedings for the day.’
Bryant’s jaw nearly hit the floor. ‘What?A witness? You havegotto be kidding me, right?’ His desperate gaze moved to Judge Reeves. ‘Your Honor, you can’t possibly even entertain the idea of allowing the prosecution to call an extra witness this late in the trial. According to the official list of witnesses that was provided during “Discovery”, all witnesses from prosecution and defense have testified. Both arguments have been presented and exhausted before the court. We were both just about to rest our cases.’
‘But we haven’t yet,’ Oakfield cut in. His voice was an odd combination of gravel and velvet all in one.
‘This is unacceptable, Your Honor,’ Bryant shot back, the large vein on his neck just about to burst. ‘The prosecution is clearly reverting to ambush tactics here. This witness, whoever he/she is, wasn’t even disclosed at “Discovery”, which means that we have no idea who this witness is. Which in turn means that we haven’t prepared a line of questioning. This isn’t only unethical, it’s a below-the-belt punch by the prosecution and you simply can’t allow them to get away with it. My client’s freedom is at stake here and—’
Judge Reeves shushed Bryant with a hand gesture, before addressing Oakfield. ‘Counsel, I’m inclined to agree with the defense here. This looks like ambush tactics… and quite late inthe day, I might add. Who is this witness that you want to bring into my courtroom? Why haven’t you mentioned this witness before? And why wasn’t the witness on the witnesses list that was provided in “Discovery”?’
‘Because we had no idea this witness existed until yesterday, Your Honor.’
‘Oh bull-fucking-shit, George,’ Bryant said, pulling a face at Oakfield. ‘Your Honor, the prosecution is clearly trying to make a mockery of this court. You must not allow this to happen.’
‘It’s true, Your Honor.’ Oakfield lifted both hands in surrender. ‘I swear that we only heard about her yesterday, at around ten in the morning.’ His head tilted right, towards the prosecution’s table. ‘That was when I got Leonard Sutton, our top investigator, to try to track her down. I, myself, had completely given up on us finding her.’ He looked at Bryant. ‘And you’re right, Tenor, I was ready to rest the prosecution’s case, but we found her and she’s here.’
‘She’s what?’ Judge Reeves asked, her eyes moving to the courtroom doors.
‘She’s here, Your Honor,’ Oakfield repeated it. ‘Just outside the courtroom, and if you allow her on the stand, you will hear a shocking testimony that could completely change the outcome of this trial.’ He handed her the same piece of paper that Sutton had handed him moments earlier.
‘Your Honor, I strongly object to this sabotage,’ Bryant said, making no effort to keep the anger out of his tone of voice. ‘If the prosecution knew about the possibility of a new witness since yesterday morning, why didn’t they mention that possibility yesterday… or even today, at the start of proceedings? No, they waited until the last second to bring her in? C’mon, Your Honor, you can’t possibly fall for such a cheap trick.’
Once again, Judge Reeves lifted a hand at Bryant to shut him up, while she read through the information on the piece of paperthat Oakfield had handed her. Once she was done, she paused, her expression pensive and serious in equal measures.
Both counsels waited.
Judge Reeves consulted her watch.
‘OK,’ she finally said, addressing Bryant. ‘We’ll take a forty-five-minute recess so that you can prepare a line of questioning.’ Her stare moved to Oakfield. ‘I’ll allow your witness to testify because the jury needs to hear about this, but don’t you ever try this trick again in my courtroom, are we clear?’
‘You can’t be serious, Your Honor!’ Bryant exclaimed, his eyes widening at the judge. ‘You can’t allow the prosecution to ambush us like this. This is preposterous. How can this ever be called a fair trial when the plaintiff can do as they please?’
‘Are you saying that I’m unfair as a judge, counsel?’ Judge Reeves volleyed back. She was a large, fifty-seven-year-old African American woman, who had graduated from Princeton University twenty-four years ago and had, for the next twenty years, worked her butt off to become a judge. She had experience in both sides of the criminal law – prosecution and defense – and her win record, regardless of side, was nothing shy of impressive. Despite having been a judge for only four years, Rebecca Reeves had already gained a reputation for being as tough as nails, but an incredibly fair judge. Her questioning eyes settled on Tenor Bryant’s face.
