No Way Out. David Kessler

PC, a docking station and a large monitor. Andi switched on the computer to download her mail. There were five messages. Four were from old friends wishing her luck in her new job. But it was the fifth message that startled her. It read:

       That rapist scumbag Elias Claymore is unworthy of your assistance and deserves everything he gets. Make sure that you are not around when justice is finally delivered or you will only have yourself to blame.

      Lannosea

      An alarm bell went off inside her head. Who had sent the message? And where from? She scrolled up to the ‘From’ field, and saw that it had come from a webmail address. It could have been sent from a public library or an Internet café. There would be no way to trace it to a person.

      A range of emotions swept over her like a quick succession of waves: confusion followed by fear followed by anger. But if the first was a ripple and the second a surfer’s tube ride, the third was a tsunami.

      Who the fuck was Lannosea?

       Monday, 15 June 2009 – 10.25

      ‘What’s she doing here?’

      Elias Claymore’s reaction appeared to border on paranoia when Alex first brought Andi into the room at the Ventura pre-trial detention facility that had been allocated for their conference.

      ‘Allow me to introduce my co-counsel on this case,’ said Alex. ‘Andi Phoenix.’

      Claymore’s eyes darted away to Alex for a moment before returning to Andi, the suspicion lingering in his eyes.

      ‘You didn’t say anything about co-counsel. Nothing personal, Ms Phoenix.’

      ‘Oh, please, call me Andi,’ she said, in a reassuring tone calculated to put him at ease.

      She held out her hand warmly. Claymore hesitated before reaching out to shake it. Then he sat down, not taking his eyes off Andi. Andi followed suit, leaving Alex last to take his seat round the table.

      ‘The first thing we need to talk about,’ Alex began, ‘is a change of venue.’

      ‘Why?’

      ‘Perhaps I can explain,’ said Andi.

      She looked at Alex. He nodded.

      ‘According to the latest stats, Ventura County has just under 700,000 Caucasians and 17,000 African-Americans. That makes the State 2.1 per cent black and 87.5 per cent white.’

      ‘That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m probably more unpopular with my own people at the moment.’

      ‘I doubt that,’ said Andi. ‘We’re talking about ultraconservative whites.’

      Claymore tried to sound jovial. ‘Well, hey…I’m a conservative!’

      ‘I know, Mr Claymore, and that might have worked if it was a minor charge. But this is rape and a lot of your natural supporters have already turned against you.’

      ‘You’ve done an opinion poll?’ He grinned, desperately, trying to make light of the situation.

      Andi maintained her neutral face. ‘We’re keeping an ear to the ground and those are the vibes we’re getting.’

      Claymore looked over at Alex, who nodded imperceptibly, content to let Andi earn her keep.

      ‘In any case,’ Andi continued, ‘we know from the stats that Ventura juries tend to be convicting juries.’

      ‘What about Hispanics?’ asked Claymore.

      ‘Hispanics can be either race and they’re included in the black and white stats. But we have a separate figure of 287,000 Hispanic and Latino citizens. Of those, 272,000 are classified as white Hispanic. There are also some 50,000 Asian citizens who are likely to be hostile to working class blacks, but might admire you and a further 17,000 of mixed race who may be a bit more friendly. But those two groups combined are less than 10 per cent of the population.’

      Claymore looked crestfallen. ‘And what do we need? If we had the ideal choice.’

      Andi was about to speak when Alex finally entered the discussion.

      ‘Ideally, we’d have a jury of liberal whites.’ He was going to elaborate on his reasons, but held back, realizing that it would sound just a little too cynical.

      ‘Or Hispanics,’ Andi added. ‘Even white Hispanics won’t be tainted by the prejudice of the more conservative non-Hispanic whites. Even if we can’t use collective guilt on them in quite the same way.’

      ‘So what can we do?’

      Alex and Andi exchanged glances. In the end it was Andi who spoke.

      ‘In the real world, the outcome of one controversial case can often have a knock-on effect on the next. In the O.J. Simpson case, the acquittal of the cops who viciously beat Rodney King was still fresh in the minds of the jurors. The truth of the matter is that a case that may be cast iron and watertight in the courtroom can fall apart in the jury room.’

      ‘So are there any recent cases we can take advantage of?’ asked Claymore. The cynical words fell uneasily from his lips.

      ‘Unfortunately not. In this case, the key to winning is getting the right jury,’ said Andi. ‘And that means holding the trial in the right district and then using challenges to prune and cherry pick the jury. Sometimes that might be as simple as getting a jury of the right ethnic group. In the O.J. Simpson case, the defense was able to get a predominantly African-American jury. In the Rodney King case it was an all white one in Simi Valley where a lot of cops lived.’

      ‘And can we do that?’

      Again Andi looked at Alex. Again he nodded to let her know that he was content to let her speak.

      ‘In this case it’s a little more complicated. Even if we can get an all black jury, it’s by no means certain that such a jury would favor you. Like you said, a lot of blacks have been alienated by your outspoken views.’

      ‘Could I ask a personal question, Ms Phoenix? Did you volunteer for this job?’

      Alex felt a stab of fear, wondering if Andi’s answer was going to be tactful or brutally honest. But he knew that he couldn’t interfere now.

      ‘That’s not a personal question,’ she replied with a reassuring smile. Claymore was watching her closely. ‘I…’

      She looked at Alex. But his face offered her no hint of assistance. ‘I was asked by Mr Sedaka to help, and I agreed. Alex was…most convincing.’

      Alex coughed nervously.

      ‘Okay, I think we’d better get a move on. We’re working on some research for the change of venue motion, but in the meantime we need to review the evidence.’

      He handed copies of the evidence report to Andi and Claymore.

      ‘The case against you appears to be made up of the following. One: a statement of the alleged victim including the second of two photo line-ups. Two: a medical report about the victim’s physical condition right after she reported the incident. Three: police photographic evidence of same. Four, a DNA comparison between crime scene DNA and reference samples taken from you and the alleged victim. Five: eyewitness evidence after the alleged rape that you were seen running from the crime scene. Six: your arrest record – six counts of rape.’

      ‘I don’t know where they got this stuff,’ said Claymore shaking his head. ‘I mean the record I admit. But the rest is just a load of garbage.’

      ‘Some of it is easy enough to demolish,’ said Alex. ‘The witness who saw you running away is weak, I need to get a PI to look into the girl’s background for anything we can use to impeach her. The real problem is the DNA