CHAPTER 62
Adriana mustered up her most pathetic look and then faced the juror. The standby juror is a 50-something man from the accused's side. Due to the peculiarities of the case, the judge and the two attorneys agreed to have a jury. The jury was composed of 10 members from Miami suburbs: 5 men and 5 women. As the accused lawyer, Adriana had upped her game. If she were to win this case, she had to play smart. Two stand-by jurors had actually been picked, a man and a woman who happened to live in the same neighborhood as the accused. There was to vouch for the woman's credibility, that she had no bad intentions and wasn't dangerous to anyone.
Knowing the other attorney would go for the male stand-by juror, she intentionally called him to the stand first. This way, she could gain the upper hand. If he, in turn, picked the woman stand-by juror, then he had himself to blame. No woman would defend the man in this time of case. Except the really crazy ones. And she hopes Mrs. Handy wasn't among those. "As a man who lived on the same street as the accused, how would you judge her character?"
The stand-by juror shifted forward and leaned his mouth closer to the microphone placed in front of him. He was a short, plump man. Though the microphone had been adjusted for him, it was still farther a bit. To be audible, he'd have to keep leaning forward to speak. "I wouldn't say Mrs. Daniels is a terrible person." He swallowed. The courtroom waited tensely for him to elaborate. Adriana stepped closer, egging him on with quick nods. "She's the kind of neighbor who comes to welcome you to the neighborhood the instant you move in." He said and moved a bit closer. "When I first moved in, she brought lasagna to welcome me, and so many other families. She's a baker, so she's always giving out cookies to the kids. Everyone loved her."
Thank you! Adriana mellowed to herself. It was exactly what she'd hoped he would say. Now, to the harder part. "Did you at any time suspect that she was being violated almost every day by her husband?"
"There were bruises." The stand-by juror attested. "Sometimes a dark eye. Once I saw her hand red beneath the elbow. She's also most times with a swollen mouth. But she hated being asked about it. Most people just ignore it. Add there's the make-up she uses too." Some people in the courtroom laughed at that.
"Order!" Said the clerk. They kept quiet.
"The make-up covers most of these bruises well. My wife only found this out recently and told me about because I thought he'd stopped beating her up. But then no one could hide completely a swollen mouth or face." He said.
To the juror, Adriana said, "Thank you," before turning to the jury. "Please take note of these members of the jury. The accused was constantly walking around with bruises, evidence that she was being hit by her late husband. And she did her best to cover up her pain in spite of it all." she then turned to the judge. "That will be all, my Lord."
The state's attorney stood up and addressed the stand-by juror. "Why do you think the accused covered up her wounds?"
The juror looked lost as he thought about that, "I don't know." He said, "Probably because she loves, loved her husband, maybe?"
"What if she had other intentions?" He asked the man who couldn't say anything to the man. The attorney turned to the jury, "Why would a woman who's being hit go the extra mile to cover it up? Did she do something to get battered? Is there a crime she's trying to cover up and not the bruises?"
From where she sat, Adriana watched the jury members to see if they were buying this. Some were nodding to what was being said. But there was nobody scribbling anything. She hoped they weren't being swayed just yet.
The attorney turned back to the juror, "Has the accused ever shown any trait of being violent in the neighborhood, either to herself or anyone?"
Adriana tensed. She had waited for this. An incident had happened in the area, and the attorney was going to use it to bash her client. She had been hoping that the question would be directed to the woman stand-by juror and not this man. Her colleague was obviously throwing all his punches at once. She smirked, scribbling down a counteract.
"Not particularly." The man said before sparing the accused a quick look. "There was this incident that happened one time. She pushed her husband towards an oncoming vehicle. He was rushed to the hospital." He paused, "But..."
The attorney quickly cut him off.
Adriana knew what was coming. The 'but' was to clear her client. She immediately stood up, "Objection, my Lord," she said, "My colleague should let the juror say what he was about to say."
"Sustained." The judge said, "Proceed."
The attorney nodded and asked the juror to complete his sentence.
"I was going to clarify that she didn't exactly push the husband." He corrected
"But you just said she did." The attorney said.
"They were having an argument. To anyone looking, she just pushed him. But when we asked her what went wrong, she told us they were arguing and that she got angry. She didn't mean to push him towards a car coming full speed."
"So this was hearsay from the accused." The state attorney smiled triumphantly. "Did the victim, I mean the husband that she later brutally stabbed, confirm this?"
"No." He confirmed quietly.
"That would be all, my Lord."
"We shall be going on a short recess." The judge announced, "Let's meet back here in fifteen." He stood up, and everyone did too, while the judge walked out.
