Chapter 3: Before The Trial

WAU chapter lawyers got the shock of their lives when they went in the morning of the day of the arraignment to Judge Kaminski chambers to confer details of the sentence that the judge had already drafted. Everything was settled the night before: there wouldn't be bail and the trail would be rushed. They were eager to show to the jury the difference in size between Big Bill and Little Sam. They also wanted to press sodomy and rape accusations although Samantha wasn't very cooperative.

The two WAU girl lawyers went to the tribunal at 9:00 on the dot; waved to the female bailiff that they knew for ages and without giving heed to her frantic gestures, they burst without waiting for invitation into the judge's chamber. Instead of their friendly female judge they found a huge, fat and almost bald man with his shirt sleeves rolled up and using red suspenders, sprawled on the high-back huge chair behind the large imposing desk reading a folder.

"What is the meaning of this outrage!" barked the man making both girls almost wet their panties.

"Sorry, Judge Harrison," piped one of the girls reading his name from the bronze name-plate on the desk. We must have entered the wrong chambers, we are looking for Judge Kaminski, sorry again..."

Judge Harrison looked them over his reading half-glasses. "This was Judge Kaminski chamber. She was my substitute, but as I returned this morning, she is not anymore active at this tribunal until the need of a new substitution. Does Judge Kaminski allow lawyers entering without announcement and without common courtesy of knocking into her chambers?"

"N-no... but we were called for a meeting... so..." tried to explain lamely one of the girls.

"Which case?"

"Lovell versus Lovell, Sir."

"I see... which one of you is the attorney of Mrs. Lovell and which one is the attorney of Mr. Lovell?"

The grounds turned dangerous, quagmire was in sight. "We both are for Mrs. Lovell, Sir."

"I see... And where is the opposite counselor, I pray?"

"Well..." started one of them but was firmly interrupted by the other. "They didn't arrive yet. We will wait for them outside, if you excuse us, Your Honor."

"Sorry, ladies, but I won't excuse you. By the way could you be so kind to inform your names?"

"Pamela Wright, Chicago WAU chapter chief solicitor."

"Dolores Rodriguez, counselor to Chicago WAU."

"And you and Judge Kaminski arranged for a meeting with Mr. Lovell's counselors..."

Pamela smelled a trap, but there was no way to get out from under, so she bravely plowed on. "Well, Sir, I don't..."

"Yes or not, Ms. Wright?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Strange. Mr. Lovell spent an entire week at the precinct and he has constituted a counselor only this morning... which you probably know because you set a meeting with him or her..."

"N-no, I was trying to tell you, Judge Kaminski was calling this meeting, so I assumed..."

"You assumed wrongly, Ms. Wright. In fact, I was informed a little while before you barged in my chambers in so uncivilized a manner, that the Law firm Cohen and Associates accepted to defend Mr. Lovell pro bono."