Lawyer vs. Love

Chapter 1

Today was the last day in court for Regina, or so she hoped. She had spent the last two months figuring out how to defend her client against one of the most ruthless prosecutors in the city. Her client had pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder three weeks ago, and ever since she has spent her time going over statements to the police, timelines of events, evidence and talking to her client.

Today was the closing statements for both the prosecution and the defense and after today everything was up to the jury.

"... as you can see Your Honor and jurors," Regina said with her award-winning smile as she paced around, "the physical evidence that actually connects my client, Mr. Finch, to the scene of the murder and to the victim is lacking. And you can see from the CCTV in the park that he was passing through there on his way home at the estimated time of of death. I hope you see it in your hearts to keep an innocent man out of jail."

At 25 years old, Regina Mills was the top criminal defense lawyer in the city. By the time she was 24 she had won 30 cases against the top prosecutor in the city, a hard-ass called Eloise Jameson who was 10 years her senior. If you had the money, Regina was your lawyer.

"Thank you Ms. Mills," the judge said.

Regina took her seat besides the balding man, Mr. Finch, and smiled. She knew he was innocent, but the prosecution had put up a good fight. She hoped that she could keep her client out of jail, but it wasn't up to her. It was up to the twelve jurors sitting in two rows at the side of the room.

Normally during court, she would only turn to the jurors when she needed to explain something complex but during her three weeks in court she had found herself staring at one woman in particular. She was blonde, and she always seemed utterly interested in anything she was saying.

"Jurors, please stand," the judge said.

Upon command, all twelve individuals stood.

"You may retire to the jury room and think about all the evidence that you have been presented. If you need anything, please speak to the jury officer and they will sort something out as soon as possible. You may leave."

One by one the twelve people filed out the room, but before the blonde could leave her seat she flashed Regina a quick smile.

"The court is adjourned for the day. We will reconvene when the jurors have come to a decision," the judge explained.

"I'll be in to talk to you tomorrow, Tom," Regina said. "I have to talk to you about the possible sentence that you may get if you are convicted."

Everyone in the court room stood as the judge left, and Regina's client was taken back into custody. The brunette gathered all her papers and put them into her bag before filing out the room. She headed straight for her car and drove to her apartment.

Today had been a long day, and she was happy to be home. From the closing statements to the jurors decision was the worst time of a case, it could last anywhere from two hours to a week, so Regina had to be ready to leave at any time. She spent the afternoon going through last minute paperwork for a small case she had done last month on top of this one.

***

The next morning, the lawyer carried out her usual morning routine. She took her usual jogging route in Central Park before showering and having her breakfast. At 9 am she was talking to her client who was dressed in an awful orange jumpsuit.

"Good morning, Tom. I hope you slept well."

The man laughed at her statement, "Good morning, Ms. Mills."

"I know you pleaded not guilty, but if the jurors should find you guilty do you understand what kind of sentence you will get?"

"No... well I know that I ain't gettin' out 'til am an ol' man."

"There are two possible outcomes if you are found guilty of homicide; you can get life without parole or you can be sentenced for twenty to twenty five years with a possibility of parole but I am sure that if this happens they are leaning towards a lesser sentence," she explained. "But -"

"There's a but?"

"But because of the fight between you and the victim prior to his death, the jurors can drop the charges to aggravated manslaughter; you can get sentenced between ten and fifteen years, also with a chance of parole."

"So if am going inside, we want manslaughter, yeah?"

"On the manslaughter charge you could be out in 5 years, 8 tops if they go for the minimum sentence."

After chatting to Tom for a while longer, Regina found herself in a coffee shop. Halfway through her second coffee she had a call from the courthouse telling her that the court was reconvening. She was less than a 5 minute walk from the court and made it with minutes to spare. Once again, the whole room stood to welcome the judge. When everyone had sat, the judge spoke.

"This case was the State vs. Finch. The offender in question, Mr. Tom Finch, was charged with murder to which he pleaded not guilty," the woman spoke. "He has been given a fair trial and both the prosecution and defense have presented their evidence and cross examined individuals. Head juror, please stand."

A short woman with red hair no longer than her shoulders stood, "Yes, Your Honor?"

"Have you and the rest of the jurors come to a unanimous decision regarding this case?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Is the verdict agreed by all of you?"

"Yes."

"What is your verdict?"

"Not guilty."

"You may sit," the judge said and the juror complied. "In the case of State vs. Finch, the jurors find Mr. Finch not guilty of homicide," she said plainly.

"Yes!" Tom said under his breath.

"Court is adjourned."

Everyone filed out of the courtroom until it was just Regina and Eloise left.

"You won this one, Mills," she sneered. "See you at the next one."

"I always win, dear," Regina said with a mocking smile.

And it was true. The last 10 cases that she had been up against Eloise Jameson she had won.

~~~

Hello, I'm back! So, I know that the first chapter is short and future ones will be longer, I promise. What do you all think? I was watching something on TV when I had this idea, so if it seems rushed, I'm sorry. Also, I have researched as much as I can about murder trials and lawyer jobs to make it seem as real as possible, but if I have gotten some information wrong or mixed up please tell me and I can try and correct it as soon as I can.
- Beth.