‘Tonight we are going to focus on the role of the judge in a criminal trial; what they do, what experience they need to have. And we’ll look, in particular, at the judge in our featured trial, Judge Bridget Nolan. What do we know about her background?’ Katrina was on the sofa of the Court TV studio, a large photo of Judge Nolan projected on the wall behind her. ‘Andy, tell us why we need a judge in a criminal trial, in the first place.’
* * *
Andy had seriously considered calling in sick today. The more he reflected on his performance so far, the more he worried about what was coming next. Clare had found him locked in the bathroom and, after a frank exchange, had convinced him to return. Seeing her before him, hands on hips, formidable as ever, he wondered if Clare might have been a better choice for the show than he was, but he suspected it might be noticed if he sent her in his place.
‘I don’t understand the problem,’ Clare had said, standing over him as he sat hunched on the edge of the bath. ‘You do this for a living. Why the sudden panic?’
‘It’s not the same,’ Andy tried to explain. ‘I thought it would be, but it just isn’t. It’s not like when I’m in court and I know exactly what I need to achieve. OK, I might try to be charming or make the odd, gentle quip to lighten the mood, depending on the circumstances, but otherwise I’m prepared and focused and there’s one objective only; sending the murdering bastard to jail.’
‘It’s the same with the show, isn’t it?’
‘No. It really isn’t. There’s the general objective of any TV show, I suppose, which is to be entertaining, which isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when you can’t see your audience and you don’t even know its demographics. Then, there’s the professed objective of this show, which is to educate the public about the law, and then there’s the unspoken objective, which is to say scandalous, outrageous things, to make our own new headlines on top of the ones we’re reporting on. But I have to do all of that without knowing what’s coming next and without offending anyone.
‘And, on top of that, they’re doing a feature on the judge tonight and they’ll want me to comment on how she’s doing, to analyse and criticise, like they made me do the other day. And, quite apart from what they’ll say in chambers, I might find myself arguing a case in front of her next week; well, not next week, but once this is over. I feel like I’m on a tightrope with no safety harness, and Katrina is shaking one end up and down with a big smile spread across her face.’
Clare had laughed and then, seeing his total bewilderment, had held him close.
‘It’s something new for you and it will take a bit of time for you to adjust, but I know you will manage,’ she said, kissing the top of his head. ‘Remember you’re all on the same side and just let people see a bit more of you, the real you. Then they’ll love you, just like we do.’
* * *
‘Thanks Katrina. That is a very good question,’ Andy, in the studio, trying very hard to be himself, replied. ‘In civil trials, for example, when I want to sue you for selling me a TV set which doesn’t work, the judge makes the decision. But, in criminal trials their role is a bit more like a referee – probably quite an apt analogy in this case. The judge listens to the evidence and tells the jury which bits are the most important, which less so, and which parts they must ignore.’
‘Are they allowed to ask their own questions?’
‘They are, especially if a point isn’t clear, but they try to remain as neutral as possible, for obvious reasons.’ Phew! He had used the word neutral and Katrina had now asked two open questions in a row, a record for her.
‘If you’ve got two strong personalities before you, though, like Jeremy Laidlaw and Judith Burton, is it hard to keep the peace?’
‘It shouldn’t be. First of all, Jeremy and Judith know the rules too, and they shouldn’t be overstepping the mark in the first place.’
‘Assuming they do, like with the late calling of this new expert, where they were clearly unable to agree…’
‘The judge must weigh up the pros and cons and decide, on balance, whether it’s appropriate to allow this evidence in.’
‘But this expert on transitioning, I got the impression, from the look on Judith’s face – here we can watch the exchange…there you are…we didn’t need our body-language expert for that one – she was pretty surprised at that decision.’
‘Me too. But the judge is in charge…and that’s how it should be.’
Katrina stopped and nodded at Andy. He had stuck to his guns, answered fully and fairly and she had exhausted that line of enquiry.
‘Why does Jeremy Laidlaw want this expert?’ Now she moved on.
‘I don’t know,’ Andy said.
‘Oh come on! You must have an idea.’
Come on Andy, the voice said in his ear. You know why he wants her. Andy stayed calm.
‘He wants to have evidence before the court about Debbie Mallard’s transition,’ he said.
‘Isn’t that a gross invasion of her privacy?’
‘You were the one who said the public should see the whole truth.’
Andy, remember whose side you’re on, the voice chipped away in his ear. Perhaps that had been a touch argumentative, Andy conceded and reminded himself to rein it in.
‘You think it’s appropriate, then, for medical professionals to give away confidential details about their patients?’ Katrina asked.
‘Debbie Mallard was never Dr Alves’ patient. Her evidence is completely irrelevant. She’s just some random doctor the prosecution is wheeling in to make trouble.’
There he had said it, exactly what he thought and it ticked all the boxes; amusing, informative, irreverent.
‘That’s a fascinating take on the new evidence and I’m sure it’s going to spark a lot of questions from our viewers,’ Katrina said and Andy believed she meant it. ‘Now we’re going to talk about Judge Nolan’s background. Stay with us, Andy, as we’ll have more from you later.’
* * *
Constance had popped home to shower and change before rushing off to Judith with her latest discovery. Then her phone buzzed and she ran from the bathroom to catch it on its final ring. She wondered if it was Greg wanting to apologise for last time and to chat about Court TV. Instead, it was another, less familiar voice, with some less than welcome news.
* * *
‘We’ll ask for an adjournment; we need to have some time to digest all of this,’ Judith responded, as Constance had anticipated, when she called her.
‘Are you sure we need it? We have Laura tomorrow and you said Dawson might be back. Then we can work on it over the weekend.’
‘Maybe. But we need to talk to Debbie properly about all of this, not just a snatched fifteen minutes before court. Can you message the judge now and ask for a late start, say 11am, and follow it up in person tomorrow morning? Explain we’ve only just received this. And go and see Debbie first thing. If you have any issues come and find me. Oh, the snake!’
‘Who? What?’
‘Laidlaw. He was being all pally with me this afternoon when Judge Nolan insisted we call Charlie back. Trying to pretend we were on the same side. And all the time he knew this was coming. Ooh. Sometimes I am so gullible. Never trust a man with polished fingernails. That’s one my mother told me and mothers are usually right on matters of the heart.’
* * *
Debbie appeared surprisingly sprightly the next morning, dressed in a lemon suit with a pastel scarf thrown loosely over her shoulders, and she almost smiled at Constance’s approach.
‘We may be starting a little late today,’ Constance began. Debbie nodded. ‘There’s been a development.’
‘Oh.’ Now the near-smile wavered.
‘And not a good one.’
‘What is it?’
Constance sat down and rested her elbows on her knees. ‘Did you know that Rosie kept diaries?’ she said.
* * *
Upstairs, as Constance headed back from her encounter with Debbie, she spied Laura at the far side of one of the waiting areas, smartly dressed in black trousers, sitting very upright, staring at her feet. She was about to go forward, when Ellis approached from the other direction. Laura leaped up, ran to him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, burying her face in his neck. Ellis coloured, looked around him and unwound Laura’s arms, consoling her as he did so.
‘I didn’t know where you’d gone last night,’ Laura said. ‘I’m so pleased you’re here now.’
‘I just went for a walk and then home to sleep. I should’ve said. But I was always going to come today and support you. You’ll be brilliant. Don’t worry about anything,’ Ellis said. ‘You relax and it will be over, before you even blink.’
‘I said I would do it, but I’m not sure now.’
‘You’ll be fine.’
Constance sighed quietly to herself and retraced her steps. She would wait a couple of minutes before approaching again. Maybe Laura wasn’t such a tough nut after all.