Chapter 36 Section thirty-fifth

I was in my pajamas and was about to climb into bed when Barbara rolled over. "Are you getting up now?" She squinted her eyes and looked at the clock. It was only half past six. "It's still early." "I haven't slept yet," I told her. She propped herself up on her arms, but I waved my hand and said there was nothing to say.I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I did, and I dreamed about my father in prison. Barbara waited until the last minute to wake me, and we hurried to court.There were a lot of cars on the bridge, and when we arrived at the court, the court had already started.Kemp, Molto and Nico stand in front of the judge, and Nico is talking.He looked sullen and tired, and the way he spoke to Laren I can only describe as agitated.

I sat down next to Stern.Barbara had called him earlier and said we might be late, but hadn't said why.As soon as I sat down, Stern quietly asked me what was wrong, and I told him that neither of us was sick.Then, he told me what just happened. "The prosecution is at the end of the rope. I'll tell you the details when the court adjourns. Anyway, now they want Morto to testify in court." I think that's what Nico was saying to the judge.When he finished speaking to the judge, Laren bowed his head and said simply, "No." "Your Honor……" "Mr. Gordia, we have discussed this issue very seriously on the first day of the trial. You cannot have Mr. Morteau as a witness."

"Your Honor, we didn't know..." "Mr. Gordia, if Morteau is going to testify, I have to reverse the decision now because, if this case goes to the appeals court, I mean, if they see our inconsistent decisions, they will Send this case back for a retrial immediately. Mr. Stern asked on the first day of the court session whether Mr. Morteau would testify in court, and you said it was absolutely impossible. Now, I can’t go back on my promise.” "Your Honor, you said that if the defendant raises the theory of framing, we can have some leeway, you said." "I've put you in front of a jury with an allegation that doesn't make sense at all. Do you remember what happened when Raymond was on the witness stand? I have confidence in Mr. Stern, as he At the professional level, you will never do things without grounds. Mr. Gordia, I didn’t know that you lost one of the most important evidences, and the last person to see it was Morteau. I didn’t know either ,Molto and your medical examiner will fabricate evidence, fabricate testimony. I warn you, sir, I can only think of one reason for what happened yesterday, and I'm still thinking about how to deal with Mr. Molto .But one thing is for sure, and that is, there is absolutely no way I would put him on the witness stand and make the situation even more confusing. What else do you have to say?"

Nico was silent, he lowered his head.When he looked up again, he straightened his coat. "Your Honor, we would like to call a new witness." "who is it?" "Dr. Miles Robinson, Mr. Sabich's psychiatrist, is on our witness list. We didn't call him initially, but last night I informed Attorney Stern of the change." I stood next to Stern and started to get nervous.He put his hand on my arm so I wouldn't show my emotions. "What's going on?" I whispered. "I wanted to discuss it with you this morning." Stern also said softly. "I have already talked to Dr. Robinson. I will tell you later what I think the prosecution will ask."

"So what's the problem?" Laren asked. "Did Mr. Stern object to your subpoenaing him without notice?" Stern stood up and said, "We did not object, Your Honor. I objected to the testimony of the witnesses, not because I was not notified." "Then tell me the reasons for your objection, Mr. Sterne." "Your Honor. Our dissent is for two reasons. First, no matter how novel the field of psychotherapy is now, there are still many who consider it to be a nihilistic object. Thus, it is possible that the doctor's testimony will leave the jury Serious prejudice against Mr. Sabic; second, and more importantly, I know that Dr. Robinson will be questioned by Morteau, and I think he will ask a lot of questions about doctor-patient confidentiality .”

"I see," Laren said. "Do you want to formally object?" Stern looked down at me.He leaned over me, as if thinking carefully. "Your Honor, what I am about to say next may offend someone, and I apologize in advance. But I believe that in order to protect the interests of my client, I must say these words. Your Honor, I doubt the prosecution's subpoena Motivation of this witness. This witness is a doctor, a psychiatrist, and the conversations he had with the patient were all therapeutic exchanges, and many of the contents must be kept confidential. I can't think of any reason for the prosecution We must let him go to court. I think the reason why the prosecution made such a request must have known that we would object, and the court would definitely support our objection. Then, when the case is finally closed, the prosecution can put The blame is on us."

What Stern meant was that Nico and Molto were playing tricks on the judge, and Nico became furious and beat the table with his fist. "I object," he said, "I object! This is too much!" He turned, stomped his feet, and walked over to the prosecution's bar, glaring angrily at Ster while drinking water. Yep. Judge Laren was silent for a long time.When he spoke again, he didn't respond to Stern's speculation. "Mr. Gordia, how are you going to deal with the issue of doctor-patient confidentiality?" Nico and Morto discussed in a low voice, "Your Honor, the evidence shows that Mr. Sabic has only been to Dr. Robinson a few times. Therefore, we believe that Mr. Sabic did not go for treatment, so it is not There is an issue of doctor-patient confidentiality."

I had enough, and I cursed loudly: "Nonsense." Judge Laren probably heard it, and he glanced at me. "Listen," Laren said, "the case isn't going very well for the prosecution so far, any fool can see that, and no one here is a fool. Mr. Gordia, don't think I'm giving you permission to call this witness , you can play tricks, you have to think carefully, I absolutely cannot and will not allow this to happen. I will not prevent this doctor from testifying in court, and I will not comment on the speculation that Mr. Stern started. I Just want to say that every question of yours is best kept out of doctor-patient confidentiality. If you want this witness to testify in front of a jury, it's up to you. But I'm going to tell you right now, you have to be careful Boy. You already have a prosecutor who is behaving suspiciously. If he wants to ask a jury about medical confidentiality, you are in danger. Have you discussed with Dr. Robinson, what are the possible questions? Yes, what aspects are not allowed to ask?"

"Dr. Robinson doesn't want to see us." "Well, he's smart," Laren said. "You can do what you want, Mr. Gordia, but you'd better ask something useful from this witness. Now what the jury thinks of you, I You can guess it all." Nico also asked to discuss with Molto.They walked together to a corner of the courtroom, and Moerteau was talking excitedly, blushing and waving his hands.When they got back, Nicole said they were going to summon Dr. Robinson anyway, and I wasn't surprised. The jurors returned to court, and Dr. Miles Robinson took the witness stand.Dr. Robinson was a thin man of about sixty-five, with gray hair cut short.His voice was soft but dignified.He was mulatto with black blood, whiter than mine, but black.I had a brief encounter with him many years ago.At the time, he was a witness in a case. Now, he is a national expert in the field of amnesia, a full professor at the university's medical school and the head of the department of psychiatry.When I have problems myself, the best psychologist I can think of is him.

"Do you know Rusty Sabich?" Moltow asked, after Dr. Robinson had given his name, office address, and occupation. Dr. Robinson looked at the judge. "Do I have to answer this question, Your Honor." Laren lowered his head, and he said kindly, "Dr. Robinson, Mr. Stern sitting there." He pointed to Stern, "It's the lawyer representing Mr. Sabich. If he thinks you have any problems, please If there is no need to answer, he will object. Otherwise, you should answer all questions truthfully. You need not worry, Mr. Stern is a very competent lawyer." "We talked a few times," Robinson said.

"That's good," Laren said, and then, to the court reporter, "please repeat the question." "I know." After repeating the question, Robinson replied. "How did you know him?" "He is my patient." "How many times have you seen him?" "I checked the medical records last night, a total of five times." "From when to when?" "From February to April this year, the last time was April 3rd." "April 3rd?" Moltault asked.He looked at the jurors, but the jurors didn't look at him.He meant it obviously, he wanted the attention of the jury, the last time I saw a psychiatrist was two days after Caroline's murder. "Yes, sir." "Did Mr. Sabich tell you about Ms. Caroline Perhemos?" Physician-patient confidentiality agreements protect the content of conversations between doctors and patients, not the fact of the conduct of the conversations.Before, Molto hadn't asked Robinson any questions about the content of our conversation, but now that the question was out of the question, Stern quietly stood up. "No," he said. "The objection is valid," Laren said clearly.He folded his arms across his chest and stared at Morteau angrily.Apparently, he agreed with Stern's speculation about the prosecution's motives, and he made his own decision.He would put Robinson on the stand, but if Moltau asked any substantive questions, and Stern objected, he would support them. "Your Honor, may I ask you the reasons for this decision?" asked Moltau, looking defiantly at the judge.God, these two really hated each other enough.So far, the conflicts and resentments accumulated over the years between them are probably only explored by archaeologists.Part of it was Caroline, of course, and Morteau must have been jealous of the relationship between Laren and Caroline.Did he know about the relationship between Laren and Caroline when they were working together at the Northern Bureau?I've thought about this question many nights.Who knew who at the time?What did Laren think Morto knew now?Too complicated.But whatever it was, it was clear that the conflict between these two men had nothing to do with me. "Mr. Morteau, you know the reasons for my decision. We discussed it before the jury came in. You are dealing with a doctor-patient relationship, and the content of their communications is confidential. If If you dare question my decision again before a jury, sir, then your interrogation ends here. Continue." "Mr. Robinson, did Mr. Sabic stop looking for you later?" "Yes, sir." "You terminated his treatment like this?" "Yes, sir." "Your Honor, I believe that the content of the conversation between them no longer needs to be kept secret under the circumstances." "Mr. Morteau, you are now in contempt of court, please continue your inquiry." Morto looked back at Nico.Suddenly, he decided to be desperate, he probably considered his arsenal, and dropped an atomic bomb. "Did Rusty Sabich tell you that he killed Caroline Polhemos?" The courtroom went into an uproar.Now, I understand why Nico was pounding the table, that's the question they brought Robinson here to answer.They weren't asking veiled questions, like did I have sex with Caroline, they were going to be desperate at the end.However, this question made the judge fly into a rage. "Enough." Laren roared, "Enough! I've had enough of you, Morto. If your question at the beginning involved the confidentiality of doctors and patients, then what is your question now?" I whispered a few words to Stern.He said to me, "No", and I said to him, "Yes." I almost took his arm and pushed him to stand up. When he spoke, there was a rare tone in his tone. hesitation. "Your Honor, we have no objection to the prosecution's question, which the witness can answer." Both Laren and Moerto didn't react for a long time. Laren's anger was still there, and Moerto was completely confused.Finally, they all finally understood. "I retract the question," Moertau said. But the judge has seen the situation clearly. "No, sir. You can't ask a jury such a biased question and then want to retract it. Mr. Stern, I'm going to double check. Do you object?" Stern cleared his throat. "Your Honor, this question does not touch on the confidentiality between doctors and patients. I don't think the answer to this question will violate the principle of confidentiality." "I see," Laren said. "Well, do you really think it's okay?" Sterne took one look at me, but replied curtly, "Yes, Your Honor." "Okay, then let's hear the answer. We all know the situation. Court reporter, can you repeat Mr. Morteau's last question." The recorder took the record book and stood up.She read in a steady tone, "Mr. Morto asked, 'Did Rusdy Sabich tell you that he killed Caroline Perhemos?'" Laren held up a hand and seated the recorder to record the answers.Laren then nodded to the witness. Robinson said calmly, "No! Mr. Sabic never told me." There was another commotion in the courtroom, and an air of relaxation.The jurors were nodding, and the schoolgirl smiled at me. But Molto will never give up. "So did he say anything about Ms. Perhemos being killed?" "Against, and object to Molto's continuing to ask questions about the content of the conversation between Mr. Sabic and Dr. Robinson." "The objection is valid! Prosecutor's lawyers are not allowed to ask any more similar questions and questions that are not related to this case. This question ends here. Dr. Robinson, you can leave now." "Your Honor!" cried Molto.But Nicolas took his arm.He dragged Morto away while discussing something with him.Nico nodded, as if trying to amuse Morto, but not to calm his anger. The judge just stared at Nico, "Mr. Gordia, does this mean that the prosecution has completed the inquiry?" Niko replied, "Yes, Your Honor. On behalf of the Kinder District Prosecutor's Office, I would like to say that the inquiry has been completed." At this time, Laren should let the jury rest and have a good weekend before deciding whether to make a direct verdict.He said to the jurors: "Ladies and gentlemen, under normal circumstances, at this time, I would announce an adjournment and let everyone leave. But right now, I am not going to let you go. Your tasks in this case have now been completed." finished." At first, I didn't understand what he said, but when Kemp put his arms around me, and Stern put his arms around me again, I understood that my trial was over.Laren continued.He told jurors they could stay if they wanted to.I put my hands on the table.I was sobbing, but I looked up and listened to the judge, to Judge Laren Little's sentence setting me free. He told the jury: "In the past 24 hours, I have thought about this case carefully. Under normal circumstances, at this time, the defendant's lawyer should file an application for acquittal. Many judges will not deny such an application. It's up to you to let the case go forward. Usually, a reasonable judge might find the defendant guilty given the evidence. I believe that with any lawsuit, there should be evidence. No one should be in the evidence Insufficient circumstances to go to trial. I think this is also the requirement of justice. In this case, I don't think the principle of justice has been reflected. I understand that the prosecution has its own doubts. Before yesterday, I could even say that , their doubts were reasonable. But now, I am no longer sure about this. I cannot allow the prosecution to go back and forth on the issue of evidence, and the evidence is obviously insufficient. This is unfair to you, and even more so. Importantly, it is even more unfair to Mr. Sabic. No one should be tried on the basis of such evidence, and there is no doubt that Mr. Sabic should not continue to be under such pressure. In this case, there is no criminal motive. Evidence, nor any concrete evidence of an abnormal relationship between Mr. Mr. Sabich had sex with Ms. the night she was killed. Also, we have all found out that there is not a shred of direct evidence that Mr. Sabich killed Ms. Borhemos. Maybe on that day At night, he was indeed at her house, and the prosecution can prove it. But if the prosecution can find the legendary glass, maybe I will have more confidence in them. However, under the current circumstances, I It is no longer possible to allow this case to continue." "Your Honor..." Nico stood up. "Mr. Gordia, I understand that you are in a hurry, but I am still talking, and I hope you will hear me out." "Your Honor……" "I have a few more words to say about M. Morteau." "Your Honor, we have decided to withdraw the case." Laren was surprised.The whole court was in an uproar, and then there was the sound of people walking around.I didn't need to look back to know that the reporters must have rushed out to call their own newspapers to report the situation.People from the TV station will come with cameras on their shoulders, and no one would have expected that the case would end like this.Laren tapped the gavel and demanded silence.Then he stretched out another big hand, motioning for Nico to continue. "Your Honor, I just want to make two things clear. One, there seems to be a lot of people who think this case is a political conspiracy, and I deny that, and I deny that on behalf of everyone in the prosecution. I think we The lawsuits filed are justified." "Speak straight, Mr. Gordia." "Yes, Your Honor. When I came to court this morning, I wanted you to let the jury decide the final outcome of this case. I think some judges do. I think that's just. But some judges may not Yes, now that you have made your decision." "Of course I've made my decision." "From Mr. Sabic's perspective, I don't think he should have questioned the validity of our lawsuit at all. I don't agree with you, we all disagree with you, no one is above the law, But I don't want anyone to think that this is me making excuses." Nico turned around slightly and glanced back at Stern, "So, based on the above reasons, I accept your decision and withdraw the case. " "agree." Laren stood up. "Mr Sabic, you can go. I can't tell you how sorry I am for all this. I am very happy to see you free, but this does not make up for the injustice in this case, I wish you all the best!" He tapped the gavel again. "Case closed." Then he left.