The Path Less Taken

Avery: December 21, 2014- 1:16 PM

        Bang! Bang bang!

In the court room for five minutes and there's already drama. Great.

        Bang! "Order in my court room!"

This is going to be a long day.

        "He made this baby, too! He can pay child support!"

I've had enough of this baby mama drama. I'm taking a bathroom break.

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        As I wait for my preliminary hearing to begin, other people file in and out of the court room. The cases vary from child support, to restraining orders, to drug charges. Each case after the next gets more ridiculous. In my small town, there aren't usually many violent crimes. If there are, they're usually domestic disputes or fights between high school kids, so my case is pretty rare. This is only the second rape case in Toledo, Washington has had in the past five years.

        An hour goes by, and I'm a nervous wreck. My mom sits on my left side, and Collin on the right. He called off work today to be with me. The prosecutor told me that I didn't have to testify in the preliminary hearing, but if I did, she was almost positive the case would move further. I didn't want to chance having to start all over again and didn't want to rely on just the arresting officer's testimony, so I decided I would testify if she needed me to. The longer we waited, the longer I regreted that decision.

        As the trial starts, the prosecuting attorney calls Officer Alvarez to the stand. I can hardly bare the nerves taking over every fiber of my being. I chew on my nails as ADA Katherine Lucas questions Officer Alvarez.

        "Is it true that you were the arresting officer in the arrest of Mr. James Bishop?"

        "Yes, ma'am."

        "And did you also take the victim's statement?"

        "Yes ma'am. I also collected the evidence."

        Officer Alvarez looks in my direction and gives me a small smile. I try to smile back, but I can't manage to make one appear. I start to feel the tears stinging at my eyes and I try to blink them away as Collin squeezes my hand and my mom wraps her arm around my shoulder.

        "Now, Detective Alvarez, can you describe to me what the evidence was that you collected?"

        "Yes, ma'am. I collected the victim's clothing that she wore on the night in question, the text messages from the defendant's cell phone, a couch cushion with the victim's blood stained on it, and the rape kit from the hospital."

        "And did all the evidence show conclusively that a rape had occured?"

        "Yes, ma'am. The rape kit showed that the victim had servere vaginal tearing and bruising along with small amounts of cervical bleeding. In addition, small amounts of semen matching the defendant's DNA was found in the victim's hair. There was also bruising around the victim's neck and in her throat. There was also bloody handprints on the victim's shirt and shorts, along with a large amount of blood staining the underwear." Officer Alvarez sounds confident. He looks at HIM with disgust and waits for the prosecutor to ask the next question.

        "No further questions Your Honor." Ms. Lucas walks back to her seat behind the prosecution bench and looks through her file marked People vs. Bishop.