Chapter 24

"All rise for the Hon. Frank O'Grady, presiding judge for the Main Town District Court for the State of the People," announced the bailiff.

"You may be seated," came the gentle but firm voice on the bench. Timmy's jaw dropped open when he saw the judge. The man was skeletally thin, with a big beak nose and scraggly blond hair that hung straight to the shoulders of his black robe.

Jennifer had been allowed to sit next to him at the defendant's table. "Wow, we lucked out," she whispered. "O'Grady is the best judge in the state, and he really loves kids. He's very fair, and our chances just went up even higher."

Timmy felt extremely encouraged by this, although O'Grady sure wasn't how he had pictured a judge.

The judge picked up and read the paper in front of him. "First on the docket this afternoon is case number 73-243, In re: T.B. This is a matter involving a juvenile. Bailiff, has the court been cleared of all but interested parties? Very good. Is the juvenile present? Excellent. Does he have counsel? Super. Let's begin. Mr. Flowers, what does the State have?"

"Your Honor," began Flowers, the State's Attorney. "I was approached by Officer Farnham of the Small Town police force about a boy he'd had contact with on several occasions. The young man was a minor, and appeared to be on his own without supervision. Although we will concede he was not observed in illegal activities, he was on the periphery of some troublesome events. He obviously is in need of supervision, and we're calling on the court to place this boy in State's custody."

The judge nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Timmy's table. "Mr. Edelstein?"

"Good afternoon, your Honor," Edelstein respectfully replied. "Timothy Barker is the bright young man you see before you today. He is not the troubled youngster that the state contends. He has been living on his own for an entire year due to the failure of his parents to provide for his needs, and has been making an admirable job of it. He has full time employment, manages to pay for a place to live and his own sustenance, and has now begun making plans to get his high school diploma and obtain more education at the college level." Timmy glanced quickly over at Jennifer, and she gave him a small smirk. "We believe the state's petition is based on insufficient data, and upon further investigation, the court will be disinclined to grant the state's request."

"Thank you, Mr. Flowers, Mr. Edelstein. You may call your first witness, Mr. Flowers," directed the judge.

"The State calls Officer Farnham to the stand," Attorney Flowers announced. There was a pause as the policeman came to the witness chair beside the judge's bench, and was sworn to tell the truth.

Timmy looked around. He cringed when he saw his parents sitting in the back of the room. Will and Denise both caught his eye and gave little smiles. Peter was not there, Timmy had not been able to reach him and the telephone had rung and rung without answer. Timmy felt miserable that he didn't have Peter's support today, but he would not let his mind dwell on it now. Later, he would deal with it.

Before Attorney Flowers could begin questioning Farnham, his own lawyer jumped up. "Your Honor, I hope it isn't too late, but I move that we clear the courtroom of witnesses."

Flowers objected. "That would put us in a quandary, Sir. The boy currently has no guardian. His parents are here and could serve in that capacity, but they will be called as witnesses. If Mr. Edelstein's motion is granted, the parents would be unable to fulfill their duties as guardians. I also understand that Ms. Jones of DSW will be called to the stand. She would thus also be unable to serve as Timothy's guardian, because she'd have to leave the courtroom, as well. We object to this motion."

The judge looked at Jennifer sitting at the defense side of the courtroom. "Ms. Jones, it's highly unusual for DSW to sit at that table, and not with the State. What's going on here?"

Jennifer spoke right back, "Your Honor, DSW opposes this petition. The State's Attorney's office did not contact us before it was filed with the court, and we did not work with that office in preparing the petition."

"I see," said the judge, rubbing his chin. His eyes narrowed as he slowly gazed at State's Attorney Flowers, and he lifted one eyebrow. He turned back to the papers in front of him.

"I also observe that this action was brought in an extremely hurried fashion," observed Judge O'Grady. "Perhaps in the rush, the usual motion for a guardian ad litum was overlooked. That's also out of the ordinary for a juvenile matter. I'm going to order one be appointed on motion of the court. Bailiff, I could guess our kindly volunteer guardian Silas Thomas might still be in the building from this morning's matter, because he is serving in another case this afternoon. Would you please see if you can locate him and ask if he would help our young friend, Mr. Barker, out, too? Thank you. If so, Mr. Flowers, I'm inclined to appoint Mr. Thomas as temporary guardian and grant Attorney Edelstein's motion. In the meantime, we'll take a 10 minute break." He stood up and swept from the bench.

Jennifer began chattering to Timmy from his right. "Wow, Timmy, we lucked out. Frank O'Grady is the best. He's fair, and he'll do the right thing. He's my hero. Too bad he is dying of cancer." Her eyes grew sad.

Edelstein agreed. "Yes, I don't always win in front of him, but if I lose, it's because my client is in the wrong or I've made a mistake. He's extremely fair. Let's go out and see if we can meet with Mr. Thomas before he comes in here."

They got to the foyer just as Silas Thomas was rushing toward the courtroom with the bailiff. He was wiping crumbs from his face with a napkin, having just been interrupted at lunch. Mr. Edelstein stopped him, reassuring the bailiff that the judge was not back from the short recess yet. The attorney introduced the portly gentleman and Timmy.

Timmy wanted to laugh out loud. Thomas was round, and was wearing a shirtwaist that strained round the middle. He was bald on top, with a circling white fringe of wispy hair below. He was of middling height, and he had on two tone saddle shoes like a school boy. He had the friendliest face, and he grabbed up Timmy's hand and said, "How do, how do," upon introduction. Timmy was charmed. Edelstein quickly filled Thomas in on the facts of the case, and what the parties were hoping to achieve. He was quite clear that Timmy wished to continue living on his own.

"Timmy, I'm supposed to study your situation and make a recommendation to the court. Can you tell me why you think you'd be good at taking care of yourself?" Thomas inquired.

"Yes, Sir," Timmy replied, thinking as quickly as possible. "I've been living on my own now for about a year. I left my parents' house because they are very religious, and I couldn't please them, no matter how hard I tried. They either beat me or withheld food to make me do what they wanted, and they never allowed me to have friends or time to myself. They often kept me out of school when I had bruises so they wouldn't get in trouble. Since I've been out on my own, I've found a job, and I rented an apartment with a roommate. Some day I hope to go back to school. I'm 17 years old, and I am pretty good at taking care of myself."

"Very well spoken, Sir Timmy. I'll keep all that in mind. Now, I better go talk to the State's fellow, and see what he has to say." Thomas smiled at Timmy, and nodded at Edelstein. He then walked over to State's Attorney Flowers, where he was seen being introduced to Officer Farnham.

"You did that very well on such short notice," praised Jennifer.

Timmy blushed, then turned to his left. "Sir," Timmy began to Edelstein.

"Please, call me Austin when it's just us," directed Edelstein.

"Ah, ok, thanks. Er, Austin, why do you want everyone out of the courtroom? I'd kinda like Jennifer to stay with me," Timmy asked.

"That's the sacrifice we'll have to make, Timmy. This way, no one will know what anyone else said on the stand. If your father is not in the courtroom when your mother testifies, she'll be more open and forthright. I think that's important in this case."

"Okay, that makes sense," allowed Timmy. He also realized that having Jennifer out of the courtroom would protect her from hearing many bad things about him.

The bailiff came back around and urged everyone to go to their seats inside. The judge waved for everyone to stay seated when he came back to his high chair on the dais.

"It is my understanding that Mr. Thomas has been found, and has agreed to serve as Timothy Barker's guardian ad litum, at least temporarily. He is so appointed. I am granting Attorney Edelstein's motion, and clearing the court of all witnesses who are expected to testify. I am admonishing all, even if you are not a witness, to refrain from discussing anything that happens within these four walls to anyone, not even any testimony you may give. Do not discuss anything you know about this matter to any person. Are there any questions? No? Bailiff, please clear the courtroom of those persons on the witness lists."

Without further prodding, everyone in the court except for Mr. Thomas, the attorneys, Timmy, the court officers in their uniforms, the court reporter, and of course, Judge O'Grady, got up and went out the large doors at the rear of the room. Every person exiting was on one of the witness lists.

"Now, I believe you were on the stand and sworn in, Officer Farnham. I remind you, you are under oath," Judge O'Grady admonished Farnham.

"Yes, Sir," Farnham replied, duly alerted. He sat back down in the witness chair.

"Please state your name and address for the record," began State's Attorney Flowers.

"Barnabas Farnham, also known as Barney Farnham, 62 Carver Street, Small Town, People's State," responded Farnham.

"Your occupation?"

"I'm a street level police officer for Small Town." Farnham then went on, at the request of his attorney, to describe his duties, his training, his experience, and his youth volunteer work.

"And have you had occasion to come into contact with the young man that is here with us today, Timothy Barker?" Flowers asked.

"Yes, sir. I was the first officer upon the scene at an automobile accident at which Mr. Barker was present. I also responded to a call for assistance for two persons suffering from illicit drug overdose, one death resulting, at which Mr. Barker was also present."

"Let's take the first incident. Can you describe what happened, and how Mr. Barker was involved?"

"Yes, on July 26th of this year, at about 6:05 p.m, I was on duty for the Small Town police department. During the normal course of my assignments for the day, I was patrolling by vehicle, and was proceeding north on Route 7 just south of the downtown district of Small Town. I was following a mid-sized delivery truck by a few car lengths, when I observed a car some distance ahead parked partially off the road. Standing directly beside the vehicle, Mr. Barker and another youth were laughing and slapping each other's palms. The car then spun out erratically and without warning accelerated suddenly into the path of the truck I was following. The truck operator attempted to avoid contact, but was unable to remain in control. The truck impacted the left rear corner of the car, which pushed the car into the opposing southbound lane. An oncoming van, later found to be traveling faster than the posted speed limit, then collided headfirst into the side of the car," Farnham testified.

"And what did you do?" prompted Flowers.

"I stopped the patrol car, directed the two youths to stay at the scene, and then ascertained the condition of the occupants of the involved vehicles. There happened to be only one driver in each, no passengers, and the driver of the van appeared quite injured. I called for an ambulance on his behalf, and I also called for backup officers due to the size of this collision. The roadway was blocked, and since the route is a major artery, haste needed to be made to clear the way. Other police officers arrived quickly, and took over the duty of collecting physical evidence and investigation, including taking breathalyzer tests of all involved parties to determine if any had consumed alcohol. I proceeded to interview the driver of the car," recounted Officer Farnham.

"What did he tell you?"

"Objection, your Honor, calls for hearsay," Edelstein jumped up. "Mr. Gifford is not here to cross examine as to the veracity of his statements."

The judge looked thoughtful. "I'll allow it upon consideration. The evidence is not being presented for or against Mr. Gifford. Since this is a juvenile matter, and not a criminal procedure, the rules are somewhat relaxed, but I caution you, Mr. Flowers, to be as faithful as possible to the Rules of Evidence."

"Yes, Sir," State's Attorney Flowers stated to the judge. He motioned for Farnham to answer the questions."

"Melvin Gifford stated that the boys were the cause of the accident. Upon further questioning, he said he had picked the boys up hitchhiking in Main Town, where they climbed into the front seat with him. He stated they then made homosexual advances upon him of a physical nature which he endured until he removed them from his car. That removal occurred just prior to the time I saw them on the side of the road, according to Mr. Gifford. He stated he had pulled over to eject them from his car as he had been afraid of being assaulted. In his traumatized emotional state of fear, he said, he rapidly accelerated to get away from the youths, and was hit by the truck as he did so, setting in motion the events of the collision," related Farnham.

"Did you believe him in part or whole?" This was met with a clear No. "Why not?" followed up the lawyer.

"I believe that he swerved in front of the truck because I saw him. I believe the boys were hitchhiking because they later confirmed it to me, but..." Officer Farnham was interrupted from further explanation.

"Objection!" stated Edelstein firmly. "Your Honor, we will object vigorously to any testimony arising from conversations between Officer Farnham and the youths. It is our belief that under the law, Officer Farnham was required to have the youths' guardians or adult representatives present at all times during questioning, and that he failed to do so. Therefore, their statements so erroneously elicited should be disallowed."

"Mr. Flowers, Attorney Edelstein makes a valid point. Unless you can show good reason to set the requirements of State Law and our state and federal Constitutions aside, I will disallow any evidence arising from interrogation of either youth whenever they were unaccompanied by an appropriate adult," the judge ruled.