REID

Chapter: 17

"All rise. The honorable Judge Lancaster presiding."

The polar bear bailiff stated, followed by the entire courtroom standing in silence. A large gorilla wearing a black robe entered the room and sat behind the judge's stand. He sat down and leaned into the microphone with a soft, yet intimidating, voice.

"Please be seated." He spoke.

The room sat back in their seats, and Judge Lancaster continued.

"Alright, today we have The State versus Reid Hirsch. Accused of the act of assault with a deadly weapon and breaking and entering. Victim is Mike Somerset, hound dog, age 32." He looks at both sides of the room. "Prosecution may make their opening statement at this time."

One of the prosecuting attorneys stood up and walked up to the microphone.

"Thank you, your honor." He cleared his throat. "On the night of February 18th, my client was at his home alone. He suddenly heard a knock at the door and was immediately, and viciously, attacked by Mr. Hirsch, whom, may I remind you, he doesn't know. After the initial attack, my client felt it necessary to protect himself and his property, and so he did."

He trailed on for what felt like forever, but once he was finished, he stepped away and moved back over to his table and sat down. The judge spoke up.

"Defense may now make their opening argument."

Audrey stood and walked up to the podium and began reading from her sheet of paper.

"Mr. Hirsch is just like each one of you. He has friends, and he has family. One wrong move, and he would have been gone. Dead. Taken from this world far too early. He is a loving buck, one with a big heart who would do anything to protect the innocent. You know this about him, but you don't know anything about Mr. Sommerset. You see, he has a record. Mr. Hirsch does not. But what he does have, is the ability to feel the pain of others. Those that suffer at the hands of those who do terrible things yet walk free. Mr. Hirsch here was only trying to bring justice to Mr. Sommerset, whom he felt needed that justice."

She spoke for close to thirty minutes. Finally stepping down and sitting next to Reid at their table. The prosecution called their first witness, who was Margorie Hunt. She is Mike's next-door neighbor. She sat on the stand and the prosecuting attorney began asking questions about their relationship and about the night in question.

They brought up the first piece of evidence, which is the bat Reid brought into the house. She never knew Mike to own a bat of any kind. They then moved to the second piece of evidence, as if the first thing wasn't bad enough, this was security cam footage from a camera on the front porch of the neighbor's house.

"Do you recognize this footage?" asked the attorney.

"I do. This is my security camera." She responded.

The footage showed Reid's truck sitting in the road in front of the house. License plate clearly visible. Reid's heart sank at the sight of this. This is not looking good.

After a few more questions, they brought up the next photo, which was Reid's vehicle registration card. It clearly showed his full name, along with the license plate number for his truck. Reid covered his face in his hands. He knew he was done for at this point.

"Your honor, we ask that you please admit Exhibit 1B into evidence, for the record the time will be 2:48 through 3:09"

After no objections, the footage appeared on the screen again. It was the same security camera shot from before, this time it showed Reid getting out of the truck, carrying the same bat from the first photo.

That is all they needed to show. The attorney sat back down, and Audrey stood up and began asking questions of the witness. She brought no new evidence, and most of the questions seemed pointless. Except for one.

"Mrs. Hunt, are you aware that Mr. Sommerset used to play baseball when he was in school?"

Reid's ears perked up. This is a great question. Maybe it'll cast some doubt in the minds of the jury.

"Yes, ma'am, however, when he played, they used metal bats."

Never mind.

Audrey sat back down, and they went to recess. Reid wasn't allowed to talk to anyone, so he just sat there, being guarded by one of the bailiffs. Once they continued, the prosecution brought Sommerset up to the stand. Reid rolled his eyes at this, knowing where this was going. The first question asked was already opening the floodgates.

The attorney asked a very simple question. "So, Mr. Sommerset, how are you feeling?"

The dog took a breath. "Scared."

During the direct examination, Mike spoke about how he was afraid for his life, and how he was willing to do whatever it took to protect himself and his house. He was painting Reid out to be a killer monster with nothing to lose. A deer with no sympathy. It took strong willpower to keep from causing a scene in the courtroom. The hound knew what he was doing, and the deer knew what was inevitable.

After an hour of talking and questioning from both sides of the court room, it was time for Reid to take the stand and talk about his side of the story. Audrey stood up and asked the first question.

"So, Mr. Hirsch, how do YOU feel about this situation?" She asked, trying to bring a counter to the previous attorney's questioning.

Reid spoke slowly and confidently. "I don't know how to feel. I'm not going to sit here and deny my allegations. Something that needs to be pointed out is Mr. Sommerset is a rapist, and I wanted to- "

"Objection, your honor! Relevance, lack of foundation. Cause for speculation." The prosecuting attorney called out.

"Sustained." The judge replied.

Reid's only real defense was shot down in an instant. There's nothing else he could say that would help his case in any way. He was done. He has already lost.

At the end of the trial, the court clerk stood up and read the verdict aloud.

"In the case of the state versus Reid Hirsch, we, the jury, have concluded the following verdict. Count one assault while wielding a deadly weapon, guilty. Count two, battery, guilty."

The judge spoke into the microphone. "Mr. Reid Hirsch, the jury, has given their true and final verdict for your case. After reviewing this case and the evidence involved, I have made the decision that your sentence and punishment will be as following." He lifted a sheet of paper and began reading. "We will combine the two charges into one five-year sentence. To add to that, you will be given a fine in the sum of eight thousand dollars. You will be given a bond of ten thousand dollars that can be posted at any point, after your first six months served."

After the trial concluded,Reid was taken to a county jail to be held until transferred to whatever prisonhe was assigned to. He looked at the floor as he was ushered out of thecourtroom and into a patrol car. His life as he knew it, was over.