Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Gangster

27. The Arraignment

One Month Ago....

"In the matter of The People Versus Oscar Ramirez, on the charges of rape in the first degree, attempted first-degree murder, kidnap in the first degree, and assault in the second degree, how do you plead, Mr. Ramirez?" the judge asked.
  "Not guilty, your honor. My client did not willingly cause any harm to Ms. Vasquez. He is a perfectly law-abiding citizen and has no priors, with a wife and children," John Buchanan, Oscar Ramirez's defense attorney replied confidently.
  "Save it for the trial, Mr. Buchanan, I'll ask again, how do you plead?" Judge Barnes asked impatiently.
  "My client does not have a passport, does not have a high-paying job and promises to arrive in court every single day of the trial. Mr. Ramirez is not a flight risk. We request that the defendant be released upon his own recognizance," Buchanan replied.
  "The People on bail?" he asked.
  "The defendant is being charge with rape 1, a Class A felony, attempted first-degree murder, and kidnap in the first degree. Given the severity of these crimes, but also taking into account the defendant's lack of a passport, the People request that bail be set at twenty-thousand dollars," Mr. Collins announced.
  The judge nodded. "Taking both requests into account, the severity of these charges, as well as the defendant's assets, as well as lack thereof, Mr. Ramirez, you are hereby remanded to Rikers pending the trial. Bail is set at fifteen-thousand dollars. The court is adjourned, next case," the judge ruled, banging his gavel as two security guards began to cuff Ramirez.

Meanwhile, outside, Detective Juliana Vasquez and ADA Rafael Barba waited outside for the results of the arraignment. Rafael had no choice but to not take this case, seeing as he was involved. The whole ordeal had triggered Juliana's severe anxiety, and she had been twitching and drinking lots of coffee uncontrollably for the past half hour or so that they had been waiting there.
  "Don't you worry, Juliana, you're going to be okay," Rafael Barba promised. "No matter what happens, any jury they could possibly gather will see that that man is a rapist, a kidnapper, and an intended murderer."
  Juliana kept fidgeting uncontrollably. "Save it for the trial, Counselor." Then she winced, realizing her mistake, seeing how hurt Rafael looked. "I'm sorry, Rafi, I ain't mean that, this whole thing is just a giant goddamn cluster-f**k and I just want it to be over," Juliana apologized quickly.
  "Oh, you don't have anything to apologize for, mi amor," he replied dismissively.

Juliana smiled sadly, knowing that almost nothing that she could do would drive Rafael Barba away. He loved her too much. Then, they saw Juliana's prosecuting attorney, Mr. Wayne Collins.
  "Mr. Collins," Juliana called loudly once she saw him.
  "Detective Vasquez, Mr. Barba," he nodded grimly. "Ramirez was remanded to Rikers pending the trial, bail was set at fifteen-thousand dollars."
  Juliana nodded. "That's—that's good," she stuttered. "That's good. Thank you, so much."
  Rafael nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Collins," he said appreciatively.
  The lawyer smiled softly. "About that, Id be a bit more comfortable if you called me 'Wayne'. And anyways, of course, Detective. I'm really just doing my job."
  "Um, you can call me 'Juliana'," she told him with a polite smile.
  "Right," the man nodded with a sigh. "Look, why don't I buy you guys lunch and we'll talk strategy some more?" Wayne Collins asked.
  "Yes, sure, thank you, Wayne," Rafi nodded.
  Thank you, so much, again," Juliana agreed. "You pick the place."
  "Sure, sounds fair," Wayne smiled. "How about Ronaldo's?"
  Juliana nodded. "I can drive." She extended a hand for Rafael to hand her they keys to the car.
  "Mi corazon, you don't have to," Rafi told her.
  "I can drive just fine, babe. And besides, nothing helps the stress like a drive through the city," Juliana sighed.
  "Of course," he nodded with a smile, handing over the car keys.

They all drove through the city, with Juliana in the driver's seat, Rafael in the passenger seat, and Wayne in the back.
  "So, Juliana, I hope you know....  this trial is going to be very difficult, more likely than not for the both of you. I know that you already know that Buchanan's going to bring up Juliana's past, her pregnancy, even if you did already get the DNA test, and maybe even her performance as a detective," he warned them in the car. "I just want to give you the time to prepare, for anything and everything."
  Juliana nodded with a worried sigh. "Yeah, I figured."
  "Yeah, so did I, that son of a b**ch," Rafael muttered.
  Wayne smirked. "Agreed, Mr. Barba."
  "Please, 'Rafael', you've earned it," Rafael told him.
  "Sure thing," Wayne nodded as they arrived at the fancy Italian restaurant.