Judge Lalo Sandstone had a habit of turning her high-backed leather chair toward the American flag to the left of the mahogany table whenever she was considering a case or making a judicial decision, and she seemed to be able to Draw strength from it.As for the California state flag next to the national flag, she doesn't believe it can give her strength.Of course, she will definitely not tell others her opinion. Many judges do not have flags or state flags in their offices.When she was appointed to the High Court two years ago, she accepted both flags -- the flag, the state flag and furniture, offices and even a secretary -- from her predecessor.The weekend before the swearing-in ceremony, she drove to the courthouse in denim to refresh the frayed areas of the once-luxury mahogany table.But she couldn't do anything about this chair.Her ex was so bulky that he crushed the springs of the chair.The court has promised to give her a new chair, but it has not been delivered.Sitting in the chair, she felt as if she were sitting on a bucket.

Lalo glanced at the clock. It was almost time to return to court.The itinerary for the afternoon is to participate in the investigation court request of a case.Such activities are routine court work, unremarkable, and usually take place in a mostly empty courtroom.But unfortunately, the result of today's investigation request can lead to the complete defeat of the public prosecutor.Originally, the court should have heard the defendant's request at the time of the preliminary hearing, but at that time, the public defender representing the defendant—who was sympathetic to the prosecution—was busy with other cases, so the request for investigation has been delayed until now.Now a graduate student on a Rhodes Scholarship, Benjamin England, has taken up the case.He devoted all his time to the case.

In this case, a twenty-year-old girl, Jessica Van Horn, was raped and murdered. Jessica's home is in Misson Weaver.She was killed in a 1989 Toyota on her way back to UCLA after visiting her parents over the weekend.Soon after, her car was found abandoned on the side of the highway with a flat tire.The search for the blond, blue-eyed and beautiful Jessica lasted for two months. Jessica's decomposed body was found in a field about 40 miles away from the abandoned car, near the sea.Before that, Jessica's image had been deeply engraved in the hearts of police officers, reporters and everyone in the community: curly flaxen hair, shy smile, big blue eyes, even the white blouse with lace -- She was wearing that top among the thousands of missing person notices that have been widely distributed.

Sandstone was no longer facing the flag, and she turned her chair to the right side of the table where hung a framed picture of her great-grandfather, a Cherokee chief.She inherited her great-grandfather's self-respecting demeanor, sculpted cheekbones, deep eyes and wisdom.Whenever she was drawing power, she always gazed at his picture. The court was full of people, and there was an uproar.Almost all the seats were occupied, and several reporters had to kneel on one leg in the corridor, holding notebooks and pens in their hands, ready to take notes.At least a dozen police officers, some in uniform and some in civilian clothes, were present.

A clerk whispered something in the bailiff's ear.Everyone knew the judge was coming.At this time, two other bailiffs escorted the defendant—a thin and small man in his thirties into the courtroom and walked towards the defense lawyer's bench.The accused hangs his head, his face propped on his handcuffed wrist: he is actually smacking a finger.He took small steps, the cuffs on his wrists like a giant magic bracelet, screeching.A bald patch on the top of his head was sweaty and glistened in the electric light. He was wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit with the words "Orange County Jail" emblazoned on the back.

"All rise!" No sooner had the defendant taken his seat beside the lawyer than the bailiff shouted.And walked to the judge's seat. "Don't sit down! Orange County Superior Court, Division 25 is now sitting before the Honorable Judge Lalo Sandstone." Lalo entered the courtroom through a small door behind the bench.Wearing a black robe that wraps around her body, she ascends the steps.Someone once told her that her face was an unreal perfection: pale, soft, flawless skin, Cupid's mouth, high cheekbones, long eyelashes that twinkled behind the lenses, a A blond barrette held her black hair behind her face.She tries to reflect her femininity in taking on the role, which is usually played by men.A thirty-eight-year-old judge seems a little too young. She must show her authority through work.Not long ago, someone commented that she looked less like a judge and more like a church choir singer.

District Attorney Ross Mitchell burst in through the double doors, he was in another courtroom and had come running.Panting slightly, he walked quickly to the lawyer's desk, threw a thick stack of documents on the table with a loud noise, straightened his tie, and looked up at the judge. Lalo's eyes were majestic, and her tone was full of boredom and reproach: "Mitchell, I am very glad that you are here, but we have already opened the court, and you are late as usual. I will give you a few minutes to prepare, and then, we Just start." When Mitchell flicked through the documents angrily, Lalo's eyes found the victim's parents.Like a pair of parrots perched on a perch, they sit shoulder to shoulder in the first row.Their faces were full of sorrow.

The couple in their early fifties held each other's hands and were blind and deaf to what was going on around them.They stared straight ahead, waiting, waiting for justice. Sitting next to them was a twenty-year-old brunette who was the victim's boyfriend.Lalo recalled seeing the face in a newspaper.He was wearing a black suit, which, perhaps, was the suit he wore to her funeral.He has maintained a relatively established relationship with the victim for the past three years. They were both first-year students at UCLA and lived together in a small apartment near the school.He told reporters he was already saving up to buy her an engagement ring.

Finally, the district attorney looked up: he was ready. When the court was quiet and all eyes were on the judge, Lalo immediately announced the opening of the court: "The public prosecutor sued Henderson, and we continue to hear the defendant's request not to provide a statement. More precisely, the defendant's statement. Mr. England , I know you have another witness." "Yes, sir!" Before the words fell, England had stood up.Although his black hair was mixed with white hair, he was still young and handsome for a man of forty-three. After the witnesses are sworn in, they walk into the witness stand.He is wearing police uniform.The testimony of the police officers was heard yesterday.Lalo was sure they had perjured them.Today, she may hear more of the same, more false testimony.The officer gave his name for the record and his job title as corrections officer at the Orange County Jail.England stepped off the table and approached the witness stand. "Officer White, when did you first meet the defendant on the evening of June 15th?"

"It must have been around three in the morning. I get off work at three. He's in the cell, sitting on the bench." "clear." England said slowly: "Is he alone indoors?" "yes." "So, what was the defendant doing when you walked into the cell?" "sleep." "sleep?" England said with his head held high.He turned to face the audience, walked to the edge of the table, and picked up something. "I-I think he's sleeping." The officer replied. "Is it possible that he has lost consciousness?"

England raised an eyebrow.The witness stared intently at what England was holding.The witness's eyes rolled up and down as England spoke, waving the objects in his hands. "Maybe." The officer replied.Then he leaned closer to the microphone: "I think he's drunk." "clear." England said. "So, you want to wake him up?" "Yes. But he didn't respond. I called another officer and took him to his own cell." "How did you get him there?" "We're holding his arm." "Did you look into his face when you were holding or dragging him?" "certainly." The witness glanced at the audience, trying to spot the guards and get some solidarity from them. "Didn't you notice the bruise on his face, and didn't you see that his right eye was too swollen to open?" "I can't remember." The district attorney squirmed in his chair, tapping his pen on the table in disapproval.England's dissatisfaction gathered in him like steam. "You couldn't have noticed that his left arm was broken either, could you?" "yes." The witness said, sweat running down his brow. "Officer White, didn't it occur to you that the defendant was in dire need of medical attention? And, in fact, the defendant was unconscious. One of his arms was badly broken, like a piece of rubber swinging back and forth. You must have noticed that, hadn't you?" White replied: "No, I think he got into a bar fight or something. If a suspect needs medical attention, it's the duty of the officer on duty to make arrangements. I'm just a prison officer." England walked around: "Officer White, did you wound the defendant?" White jumped up from his chair: "No!" "Well, it's interesting. Yesterday, the police confirmed that in arresting the defendant, he hit the defendant, caused a few bruises, and nothing else. So, I guess, that means you broke the defendant's arm, right? ?I mean, if it wasn't them, then you broke his arm." White's face was flushed, and he was unwilling to admit defeat easily. "Impossible! His arm was broken when he registered for the record. I definitely didn't break his arm!" There was commotion in the courtroom.The District Attorney's face paled.England presses on: "You're saying his arm was broken by the police, right? Not at the time of the filing, but before that?" The witness was silent and lowered his eyes.Finally, he said, "I think so." "so you," England said, pointing at him, "Why do you leave a badly wounded, unconscious man in a cell where he is likely to die? Let me tell you why. Because You're off work and you don't want to be in trouble. You don't want to take those notes and go to the infirmary because all that takes time, Mr. White, doesn't it?" White lowered his head without answering. The district attorney blurted out: "No! He's baiting witnesses." Lalo said, "The objection works." "Your Excellency, there is no problem." England said and sat down.Clearly, his point of view prevailed. Lalo looked at the District Attorney; she felt a growing tension in her neck. "Mitchell, your witness." White was on the witness stand, swallowing hard.The two police officers sat in the back row, glaring at each other.Lalo thought: White is much more frightening than Benjamin England.He was fighting alone.The days to come will not be easy! The district attorney stood up and tugged at his jacket.His voice was low and soft: "Mr. White, can you be absolutely sure that the defendant did not break his arm by falling off the bed? At first, you said that you did not notice the defendant's injury. Now, are you going to retract your original testimony ?” This time, White saw the policeman's eyes.But at this moment, his mind was confused, he just wanted to get out, leave the witness stand, and get out of the courtroom.As a correctional officer, he doesn't testify often, and it's nerve-wracking to do so. "Yes. I noticed his arms. When I entered the cell, both of his arms were broken." "Now, are you absolutely sure of that? You were perjured?" Mitchell shook his head, letting his hair fall to his forehead.He understood that the situation was bad.He had thought it wouldn't be so bad. White blinked and said, "Yes." More sweat oozed from his forehead and upper lip, and small beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks. In a last-ditch effort, the district attorney said, "Mr. White, is it possible that the defendant fell off the wooden bench and broke his arm before you went into the cell?" White thought for a moment.But it was evident that he was determined to make a full confession, to make amends to the court, or to his own conscience, by telling what he knew. "I thought it was possible, but that's not the case. Everyone knew he was beaten before he could be registered." He cleared his throat and continued. "You all know that? He raped a girl and killed her." White looked confidently at the audience as he said this.Because he believed that if they had the chance, they would try to make the defendant suffer, break some bones, and make him bleed. The district attorney didn't want to talk about it.In fact, White has messed things up. It's irreparable.England also bothered to refute White's speculation about the defendant's guilt."Your Excellency, there is no question," said the district attorney. After speaking, he sat down on the chair. Mitchell turned to the victim's parents: their eyes met.Lalo felt the tension in her neck transfer to her chest now.The victim's parents stood side by side, holding hands, still sitting upright, motionless.They were like a statue—a bronze crucifix.Now, they are aware of what happened in the courtroom. The look on the face of the young man sitting next to them told him that he understood everything. "very good," Lalo said and glanced at the witness, "You can leave the witness stand now." Then she turned to the hall and said, "After a fifteen-minute break, I will deliver the sentence. Mr. Mitchell, I want to talk to you in the office." She tapped the gavel lightly, stood up, and walked out of the hall. She walked quickly to the office.The district attorney followed suit.Without looking back, she said, "Are you going to charge Maquino and Curtis?" She meant the two policemen.With that said, she walked into the outer room of the office and nodded to the secretary.Those two officers didn't just beat the accused half to death.And he gave false testimony yesterday. "Maybe, I'll have to think about it," said the district attorney. His interest appears to be increasingly centered on the case, or the later stages of it, rather than the prosecution of the two officers. Walking into the office, Lalo walked behind the desk and sat down, threw the glasses on the desk, swiveled the chair, and said to the young district attorney: "These policemen should be prosecuted, relieved of their duties, pulled out, and shot." They. I've never had such a stupid case in my life." Lalo was so angry that she felt her hands tremble as she ran her fingers through a piece of paper on the table. The district attorney looked up at Lalo's words, but he said nothing.Obviously, for these policemen, he has to do his duty.Finally, he asked dejectedly, "You know he's guilty, don't you?" Lalo did not answer, her hands were very weary.Although Lalo wanted to say it loudly, she would refuse the defendant's request not to confess.But even then, the defendant's conviction would be overturned during the appeal process. "It's obvious at a glance, as long as you are a lawyer, you must know it. It's just that you failed to defeat him and get a confession from him." Lalo looked at the D.A. and saw him bury himself deeper in the chair. "Just make the judgment that the accused does not testify! We mean it," "He knew it too," Mitchell said. Mitchell's words were full of blame for the defendant's defense attorney. "Last week, our original witness died. There is no statement from the accused ... Well, we'll just have to wait for the dismissal." Lalo had known for a long time that they had been working on the case for three weeks.On a videotape, they recorded the defendant's slurred confession, but the tape was cut off abruptly.Lalo was convinced that this was because the defendant had been overwhelmed by the police and could not give a full statement.They are busy talking with the family every day to understand the situation.Both of them are experienced investigators, and both of them have teenage daughters. However, they failed. Without the testimony of eyewitnesses, without the crucial confession of the accused, the charge cannot stand.Lalo asked Mitchell to go to her office, just to use these few minutes to accept this inevitable ending together, and to have a unified understanding.District Attorney to withdraw charges and reclassify.If they bring such a case that cannot withstand refutation to trial, the result can only be the acquittal of the accused.Then it's all over!They'd better drop the case now and pray for more evidence to flesh out the case.The biggest problems they face: the outrage that dropping the case is sure to cause, and, while they investigate the case further, a dangerous murderer gets away with it.The public's outrage would be directed not at the two policemen, the real culprits of the end, but at Lalo. "Are you going to withdraw the case today?" Lalo hoped it wasn't today.If so, it would be terrible: she would agree to the defendant's request not to give evidence, and before long, the defendant would be walking out of prison. "I don't know, England will ask to drop the case." He leaned forward, then leaned back sharply, waving his hands in the air: "It's over! We're just shit." Lalo got up and walked to the court.Mitchell stood up too, and a few seconds later he caught up with Lalo across the corridor. After the resumption of the court session, Lalo announced: "After careful consideration," She paused, knowing the weight of her words.She receded back into the chair so that those below could only see her head. "Granting the defendant's request not to give evidence," She cheered up and looked around the hall, and continued: "From the evidence presented in court, the defendant was seriously injured, and his confession was provided under duress, so it is declared invalid." England stood up suddenly: "Your Excellency, we request to withdraw the lawsuit. Since there is no evidence, the prosecution against my client is not established." The defendant looked up, his eyes blank.Lalo had seen his case file and knew he was on psychiatric medication.The commotion in the hall grew louder.The District Attorney is turning around and talking to the victim's parents.My mother was crying, and my father rested her head on his shoulder. He comforted her in a low voice, stroked her hair gently, and tried to comfort her.The victim's boyfriend opened his mouth in surprise and jumped up.The district attorney tugged at his coat and he sat down again. Mitchell stood up and said, "Your Excellency, the plaintiff withdraws." There was an uproar in the hall.The accused scanned the hall rapidly.Lalo thought: Whom could the accused be raping while the D.A. was gathering evidence?Who will be murdered?Is he thinking about it right now?Does his sick, twisted inner desire kill?He scanned the hall, looking for his next target?Lalo stood up, leaned over the rail, and struck the gavel again and again.Marshals approached the victim's parents, who kept watching the couple and the accused.The hall finally returned to calm, and Lalo sat down. "It is now announced that, at the request of the defendant, the prosecution is dismissed." As she spoke, she took a deep breath and stared at the document in front of her. "The defendant is escorted back to the prison. Immediately notify the sheriff to release the defendant. Please submit the bail to the court clerk's office. Adjourn!" Lalo didn't bother to tap the gavel again, because no one could hear clearly anyway. Reporters ran around the hall, jostling and jostling for their editors.Lalo sat very still, staring intently at the victim's parents, her heart filled with sympathy.The District Attorney was sitting next to them, conferring with them.The victim's mother wiped her eyes with a piece of paper and blew her nose. People are leaving the hall; the recorder is packing up the typewriter.All the policemen disappeared before the sentencing.Lalo thought: They're not stupid, they knew it was going to end like this.Tomorrow, the District Attorney will charge the two arresting officers.At this time, a bailiff was chatting with a clerk.England packed his briefcase, his mission over. Suddenly, the victim's boyfriend stood up, his face contorted with anger. "How can you do this!" He yelled at Lalo, "He killed her! He raped her and he killed her! He deserves to be beaten! He deserves to die!" He was panting with anger, his face was flushed red, his body stretched out from the back of the chair in front of him, and his wide eyes shot out angry flames.A bailiff rushed over to him, and the district attorney tried to sit him down as well. "You just let him go, he should have killed you... raped you, strangled you! You slut..." A bailiff stopped him, and two other bailiffs rushed over.They were all watching for weapons in his hands. "Should kill your whole family...Kill them...You will know what justice is and what your laws are. What should I do? Kill him with my own hands! You are not worthy to be a judge, you are the same as him goods!" Lalo still sat there, almost consumed by his unjust language.He had hoped that the court would avenge his girlfriend.But his hopes were shattered by the high walls of the law: those who should be defending the law are blaspheming the law.The bailiffs looked at Lalo, and if she nodded, they would handcuff him.He was held tightly by the bailiff, and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.He kept writhing, trying to get out.He was going to rush over and tear her apart with his bare hands.Lalo shook her head at the bailiff and left the hall.He has the right to vent his resentment.She leaned against the wall of the hallway, her eyes staring straight ahead.After listening to these angry words, her chest heaved up and down in anger, and she could clearly hear her own heartbeat.Looking into the hall, all she saw was a red mist.The victim's body began to keep appearing in her mind, and she wanted to dispel it. She got up, straightened her robes, and plodded across the hall.There were twenty-five homicides in Los Angeles this past weekend.She thought sadly: It's just one weekend, and one nasty weekend is twenty-five lives.The city was drowning in violence, and she had just freed a murderer.She said bitterly to herself, "Brilliant. Look what you've done with your life—free the murderers, give them passes, Lalo." She stopped at the secretary's desk. Philip was doing word processing on the computer. He turned his chair and asked, "What are you talking about?" He was a thin, well-groomed man with sandy hair and soft, innocent eyes.He is nearly thirty years old. "Philip, what are your plans for tonight?" "Tonight? I, I have arrangements. What's the matter?" he asked unnaturally. Lalo studied his face.She didn't want to have dinner alone tonight, and then go back to her deserted residence alone.She needs someone to keep her company and forget about the unpleasant things of the day.Before she could open her mouth to invite him to dinner, Philip said, "I'm going to visit someone around nine o'clock." His face turned red.Lalo thought he might have a new girlfriend or something. Lalo had never heard Philip talk about his girlfriend. "No," Lalo thought it ridiculous that she should think of inviting Philip to dinner.She changed her mind and invited others. "Don't mention it, go home, it's no big deal!" "How was the afternoon? What judgment did you pass?" "I agreed to the defendant's request not to testify. The district attorney also dropped the case, so Henderson is going free." "Oh my God!" He raised his eyebrows and rested his face in his hands. "Just because the cops beat him? Did they really teach him? I think they should be let off. The accused committed a heinous crime. You can't blame them for that!" "Yeah, I hope the police beat him up," Lalo said calmly, "That's probably the only punishment Thomas Henderson got." After speaking, Lalo walked into the office and closed the door.