Monday, January 27, 2014

Destruction of Enemies is a good thing.

They never found the body... but the forensic evidence and the suspect's statements led the LAPD to believe that he had shot his brother and disposed of the body.

The cadaver dogs had positively reacted to the backyard... There were purchases made from Home Depot for all sorts of tools, including a shovel, an axe, 30 pounds of briquets, and a hammer.

The bottom lining of the living room couch was missing, there were human hair stuck in the nails at the bottom.

We stood in court, face to face, the prosecutor and I... she had charged my client with 1st degree murder, seeking a life sentence. The detectives standing behind her, holding the 2 volume murder book, spanning the 1.5 year murder investigation, looked at me with a poker face, trying to gauge my ability and fortitude...

....

In the process of defending the case, and defending my client's life, in the process of finding justice between a Murder and a Manslaughter, in the process of matching the facts and deleting the suppositions, the prosecutor and i tested each other's mettle. I took her to task. I challenged her theories, her suppositions, and she returned the favor.
.....

A few short years have passed since then. And Madame prosecutor, who took me to task, and whom i fought hard and long in that battle is now a Judge. I walked into her Court today... She saw me, she lit up, and she smiled. Her eyes sparkled. She got off the bench, hugged me and i hugged her back.

I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln's quote: Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"

Someday, before i am old and grey, before i have lost my wits to senility, i will write about this one case that cored my soul, hollowed me of breath, and hallowed my practice. But until that day comes, ... i am the luckiest girl who practices what she loves and her passion for her work has translated into a tale of 1001 stories that would put Sheherzad to shame.

On a glorious morning, ...

CDAK.
1/27/2014
Los Angeles

Lecturer, Radio Host, Citizen Journalist, Blogger