PEOPLE CROWDED THE COURTROOM and Cornell Norris felt a flash of nervousness that he quickly suppressed.
“Court is now in session!” Judge Iverson announced. “The case is the Territory versus Jasper Lee, Criminal Docket Number 17.”
The new lawyer, Harwick, fiddled with papers on the table.
“The selected jurors will take their place in the jury box.”
A grumble of disapproval flitted through the crowd.
“Order! Order!” Iverson banged his gavel.
Harwick rose to his feet. “Your Honor, I must object to this procedure. I haven’t had an opportunity to question the prospective jurors and my client hasn’t even entered a plea!”
“Objection overruled, Mr. Harwick. I figured Mr. Lee will enter a plea of not guilty and I know a good jury when I see one.”
“Your honor, the question isn’t whether or not the jury is a good one, but whether or not it is a fair one.”
“Are you questioning my integrity, counsel?”
Harwick took a deep breath. “Based on your last two decisions, yes sir, I am…for the record.”
An uneasy silence descended on the courtroom. Harwick was good. Too good. He’d have to be eliminated. That meant they needed time to take care of the problem.
Iverson shuffled papers on the bench.
The uncomfortable feeling that the people around him were starting to fold under pressure settled in the pit of the governor’s stomach.
Harwick apparently noticed the judge’s condition too, because he drilled in. “Your Honor! We can’t start the trial now. I haven’t had a chance to investigate this case.”
“There shouldn’t be much dispute about the facts, Mr. Harwick.”
The young lawyer’s voice deepened and he leaned forward, his jaw jutting towards the judge. “On the contrary, your Honor, we dispute all of the facts and challenge the venue of the court to hear this case. We further object to the unconstitutional procedures this court seems bent on following.”
“Mr. Harwick, you can’t challenge the venue of the case when the prosecutor hasn’t had a chance to present evidence on venue.”
“I certainly can challenge the process of these proceedings and the failure to impanel a jury without the proper procedures guaranteed by the United States Constitution. I demand this trial be stayed so that I may bring an appeal to the federal court.”
The judge slid his eyes over to the governor and Cornell nodded his head just enough for Iverson to get the message.
“All right, Mr. Harwick, I’ll grant your motion for a stay. You have until 9:00 Thursday morning. Court adjourned!”
When the crowd had cleared the governor strode into the judge’s chambers followed by the prosecutor and the sheriff.
“I don’t like this, Cornell,” the judge complained. “I didn’t expect Lee to be able to get a lawyer to represent him.”
“I must admit that runt Harwick wasn’t doing too bad a job,” the prosecutor said.
“Shut up, both of you. I wanted to give him some time so he would go to the federal court in Fort Hurley.”
“Letting him appeal to the federal court is not a good idea.” Iverson’s voice cracked like a thirteen year old boy just hitting puberty.
“He won’t make it to any damn federal court. Thursday you’ll be able to run the trial without any bothersome objections.”
“Cornell, how many people can you keep on killing without blowing up everything we worked for?”
“Don’t get skittish on me, Rance. We’ve run into a little bad luck and we just have to tie up loose ends.”