Judge Roth's Law

by Bill Sage

  Jon was still standing at the door, keeping his eyes on Roth, but now showing a slight grin.

  Goldman briefly glanced at Mangano, who was staring at him, then looked at Roth again. “Please, Your Honor. I just need a few minutes with my client.”

  “Mr. Goldman, if you’re attempting to delay the trial and then make more irrational statements, I’m bringing in the jury now. You better not be conning the court.”

  “No…no, Your Honor, I need to talk to him. It’s important for the representation of my client.”

  Although Roth wanted to keep browbeating Goldman, he knew he had to allow him time to consult with Mangano. “Alright, Mr. Goldman,” Roth said, giving him a piercing nod.

  Goldman looked back, then took a breath.

  “We’ll take a short recess,” Roth said. “Give you a little time to talk to the defendant before we bring in the jury.” Then he turned to Jon. “Hold off for right now.”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” Jon said, then he headed back to his desk.

  Unable to resist, Roth turned to Goldman again and in a straight face asked, “Would you like to go to the lockup where it’d be more private?”

  Hearing what Roth said, Wilcox winced as he looked over at Jon, then went back to concentrating on Goldman.

  “No…no, Your Honor. I can do it here,” Goldman said. Then he sat down and huddled with Mangano, who looked like he didn’t know what was going on.

  As Roth watched them taking turns whispering in each other’s ears, he laughed to himself. Just a few minutes ago, Goldman thought he was the smartest guy in the courtroom, maybe smartest trial lawyer in California. But now he was sitting at the counsel table, pretending he was having a serious discussion about trial tactics with a Mafioso.

  It was dead quiet in the courtroom.

  Judy sat at her desk, looking down at the docket sheet. The court reporter was taking a break, hands dangling down at her sides. Jon was sitting straight up in his chair, arms folded, sometimes looking up at Roth, trying to catch his eye.

  After one or two minutes, Goldman rose and said he was ready to go back on the record.

  “Okay, we’re back on the record, Mr. Goldman,” Judge Roth said. “You may proceed.”

  “I have discussed this with my client, explaining his options and the pros and cons of each. He has decided that if the court wants to declare a mistrial, he will agree to it.”

  Judge Roth had to grudgingly admire Goldman—he never gave up. Roth paused and glared at him for a moment. “Counsel, I gave you time to speak to your client. For what?” he demanded. “Now you’re trying to stiff the court again. You’re wasting the court’s time.”

  He let that hang there for a few seconds as Goldman looked like he was trying to come up with something to say.

  Then Goldman said, “Well, Your Honor—”

  “Either make a motion or I’ll bring in the jury. Make up your mind,” Roth said with annoyance in his voice.

  “Yes, Your Honor, I understand.” He paused briefly. “I’ll…I’ll do that.” Then Goldman cleared his throat and said, “On behalf of my client, I move the court for an order granting a mistrial.”

  “I detect some hesitancy. You want to have another conference with your client? We can do that.”

  “No, no, it’s what we want.”

  Roth nodded once. “Well, we’ll see what happens.” Then he turned to Wilcox. “We’re all familiar with how this trial has been fought and with your last comments. With that in mind, do you have any objection, Mr. Wilcox?”

  “I think under the circumstances it’s the reasonable thing to do. No, I don’t, Your Honor.”

  “Okay, Mr. Goldman, back to you. Is granting a mistrial what you and your client want and would it be with your consent?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Do you have any questions you want to ask me, Mr. Mangano?”

  “No, Your Honor.”

  “You have a right to continue with the trial, Mr. Mangano, if that’s what you want to do.” He took a pause. “Is ending the trial what you want and is it with your consent?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.”

  “Are you sure that's what you want to do?”

  "Yes, it is."

  "Do you need any more time to discuss this with your attorney or me?"

  “No, sir.”

  “We have the time if you want.”

  “No, I’m okay, Your Honor.”

  Judge Roth then declared a mistrial. After a few minutes of discussion, the two attorneys and Judge Roth agreed to a retrial date four months away.

  “I'd like to bring up the matter of bail, Your Honor,” Goldman said.

  “Let’s take that up at 1:30. I need to discharge the jury first and let them go home. And if you’re feeling optimistic, that’ll give you time to contact a bail bondsman.”

  Goldman smiled then looked away.

  Jon brought the jurors back into the courtroom. Judge Roth explained what had happened and thanked them for satisfying their civic responsibilities. Most looked annoyed and some seemed disappointed.

  The attorneys and Mangano stood while the jurors gathered up their belongings and made their way out of the jury box. It was completely silent as they walked past the counsel tables.

  Jon had a somber look on his face as he held open the mahogany gate for the jurors, who were walking into the audience section and then out the double doors leading to the hallway.

  Roth heard one juror mutter, “This is bullshit,” as he was walking out. He understood how the juror felt and hoped it hadn’t spoiled his interest in serving on a jury again.

  When all the jurors had left the courtroom, Roth closed the file and stood up. “Bail at 1:30.”

  Then he went to his chambers.

  After waiting a few minutes for the attorneys and Mangano to leave the courtroom, Roth asked Jon to bring Lopez to his chambers.

  Lopez entered and took a seat in the chair on the right side of Roth’s desk.

  “Well, despite everything, it’s finally over,” Roth said.

  “Yeah, but leave it up to that prick to fuck things up.”

  “He wasn’t fooling anyone.”

  “What do you mean? You thought he’d back down and ask for the mistrial?”

  “He had to request one. If he didn’t, he’d lose the right to appeal what Wilcox said in court. Not asking for one would be considered a waiver, could even be malpractice on Goldman’s part.”

  “What an asshole, though.”

  Roth stood up, removed his robe, tossed it on the couch. Walking back to his desk, he asked, “Did he see you?”

  “Yeah, when he walked out. We exchanged glances.”

  “Good.”

  When Roth sat back down, Lopez took a breath and said, “Okay, I gotta ask you something. I think I know what you’re gonna say, but I gotta ask.”

  “I know what you’re going to say. Go ahead.”

  Lopez hesitated two or three seconds. “How come you didn’t just stop the trial on your own? I mean…”

  “If I did it without Mangano’s consent, the People would run into a double jeopardy problem. They couldn’t retry him. Mangano would get off scot-free. But of course, that didn’t matter to me because Mangano wouldn’t have lasted long enough to have another trial.”

  “So why didn’t you do it?”

  Roth took a breath then grinned. “That asshole pissed me off. Thought he’d put one over on me. I had to take him on, couldn’t let him get away with it.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Yeah, fuck him anyway.”

  “You know, when you think about it, this whole thing has been off-the-wall. I mean you got the federal protection, Torres attacking the DA, Goldman acting like a street thug. When you look back, it’s quite a story.”

  “Maybe you ought to write a novel,” Roth said.

  “Not me, tell Jake to do it.”

  “Yeah, but in his novel, everybody gets whacked. Mangano, Goldman, Torres,
Bradford.” After a pause, Roth said, “It’d be like Michael Corleone at the end of The Godfather.”

  “As long as it’s fiction.”

  “Well, anyway, now it’s Mangano’s turn. It’ll all be over soon.”

  Lopez nodded. “Perfect justice.”

  Roth nodded back, muttering, “Uh-huh.” Then with a solemn look on his face, he stared at Lopez and in his Ricardo Montalbán voice said, “Justice works in strange and mysterious ways, my friend.”

  49

  THAT AFTERNOON GOLDMAN and Mangano stood up when Judge Roth entered the courtroom and took the bench. Since Jon hadn’t announced a formal opening, Wilcox remained seated.

  “Good afternoon gentlemen, Roth said. “You may be seated.”

  “We’re fine, Your Honor,” Goldman said. He and Mangano remained standing.

  “Okay. We’re here to discuss the issue of bail for the defendant, Niccolo A. Mangano,” Roth said. “Bail had been denied because Mr. Mangano was found to be a flight risk and there were reports that he’d threatened to shoot it out with law enforcement officers if they attempted to take him into custody. Now that a mistrial has been declared, we need to revisit the bail issue. I'll hear arguments from counsel.”

  Goldman said, “It's extremely unfair to have Mr. Mangano sit in jail for another four months because of the prejudicial misconduct of the DA's office. If it weren't for Wilcox's false statements in front of the jury, this case could have been over in a few days. But now because of Mr. Wilcox, my client has to rot in jail for months until the next trial. That's not right.”

  Wilcox apologized again. “It was wrong, I shouldn’t have fallen for the bait. But…and I know this doesn’t justify what I said, but Mr. Goldman did tell me those things in the hallway during a break.”

  “That’s not true, Your Honor,” Goldman said, scoffing.

  “Alright, let’s get back to the issue of bail,” Roth said.

  “Opposing bail isn't a personal thing,” Wilcox went on. “The reason Mangano can't get out on bail is because he’s said he’d flee the jurisdiction and would kill any cop who tried to bring him in.”

  “He has no reason to flee in this case,” Goldman shot back. “They got the wrong man, and he never said he’d harm anyone who tried to arrest him. The people who said that lied to cut their own deals. So let me assure the court he's not going to run and he’s got no beef with the cops.”

  “I see the merits in each of your arguments, and you both make compelling cases. But there's another thing I think I should consider,” Judge Roth said, looking straight at Wilcox.

  “Not only was Mr. Mangano caught in the middle of the running battle between you two attorneys, but through no fault of his own, he was thrown into an unexpected set of circumstances that showed us another side of him.”

  Roth paused and looked at Mangano.

  “With no hesitation, he leaped to Mr. Wagner's defense when he was being attacked by that wild man, Torres. He did that at some danger to himself. He didn’t have to do that.” Roth paused there for a moment. “He knew there were plenty of law enforcement officers in the courtroom, but that didn’t stop him from coming to Mr. Wagner’s defense.”

  Nodding, Goldman looked at Mangano and then back at Judge Roth. Mangano stood still, looking straight ahead with a solemn expression on his face.

  “Your Honor…” Wilcox said.

  “In a minute, I—” Roth said.

  “What Mr. Mangano did shows us he cares about being a good citizen,” Goldman said in a soft voice before Roth could continue.

  Goldman’s words and sanctimonious manner almost made Roth laugh out loud. Goldman’s positioning himself as a champion of law and order was difficult to stomach. Scoffing, Roth paused as he stared at Goldman.

  Then he continued. “Mr. Mangano’s conduct should not go without consideration at this time. Now is a time when the good things a person does should be taken into account.”

  Goldman whispered something to Mangano, who quickly buttoned his suit coat.

  “Those kinds of spontaneous reactions mean something,” Judge Roth said. “They show a person's true character, how he responds without thinking or calculation. I think I should consider what he did to get an idea of his true character.”

  “But, Your Honor, there’s still a risk of flight and violent resistance to arrest,” Wilcox interjected.

  “Mr. Mangano is not going anywhere. He’s innocent and has nothing to fear,” Goldman said.

  “Mr. Wilcox, I understand your concerns,” Roth said. “But Mr. Mangano showed us he holds no malice for law enforcement.”

  After pausing a moment, Roth focused back on Wilcox, addressing his next comments to him. “The circumstances have changed. That can happen. My God, Mr. Wilcox, he defended one of your colleagues. He’s shown us he’s less a threat than what we thought when this case began.”

  Wilcox looked down at his file and kept quiet.

  They argued about the amount and finally settled on $500,000. Judge Roth knew the mob could post that much because Jake had told him so.

  “Thank you, Your Honor. My client is grateful,” Goldman said in a soft voice.

  Mangano was taken back to the lockup to wait for a bail bondsman to post bail so he could be released.

  “One matter remains, Mr. Goldman. A final ruling on your contempt citations. Do you want to continue that to another time or handle it right now?”

  “I think this would be a good time, Your Honor.”

  Roth expected Goldman would want him to decide his contempt citations now. Goldman had the momentum on his side and Wilcox’s remarks were still fresh in Roth’s mind. This would be the best time to get it off his back.

  “Alright. I’m going to review the file again in chambers, and then hear argument regarding imposing the thirty days I ordered.”

  “Yes, Your Honor,” Goldman said in a faint voice.

  Judge Roth called for a short recess and left the bench.

  50

  ROTH WENT TO HIS CHAMBERS, removed his robe, sat down at his desk. He eased himself back into his chair.

  I did it, it’s over.

  Thinking about what happened during the trial, he let out a long sigh. He’d come through for his good friend, did what he had to do to save him from getting whacked.

  As for Goldman’s contempt citations, Roth knew getting Mangano out of jail wouldn’t have happened without Goldman. He’d lived up to his reputation and then some.

  Roth began studying the court file and his notes, reviewing each time he’d given Goldman a five-day sentence for contempt of court.

  For some incidents, Roth’s notes were incomplete, so he had the court reporter come in and read the relevant portions to him. Then she left.

  After nearly an hour, he threw his notes into the file, flung on his robe, and walked back into the courtroom. He looked tired. His tie loosened, his shirt collar unbuttoned, and his judicial robe unzipped.

  When Goldman saw Judge Roth enter the courtroom, he rose and stood at the counsel table. His face and posture fixed to exude his most repentant look. After Judge Roth sat down, Goldman looked down at some papers on the table.

  Roth saw that Goldman was jotting down something on the top of his file, so he waited one or two seconds to give him enough time.

  Then Goldman looked up.

  “Mr. Goldman, I've carefully reviewed the file and my notes. I'd like to hear your comments.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor,” Goldman said in a respectful voice. “I have just a few comments.” He paused and buttoned his suit coat. “Now that this hard-fought case is over, and in light of how it ended, my feeling is that it would be unjust to make me do the 30 days.”

  Roth sat expressionless, focusing all his attention on Goldman.

  Goldman took a breath, then pinched his eyebrows for a few seconds. It looked like he was carefully choosing his words and making sure he didn’t say the wrong thing.

  “I know I may have stepped over the line in
representing my client,” Goldman said, “but it's not wrong to fight hard for a citizen charged with a crime, especially murder. That's part of the American adversarial system. Our system of justice was built on that idea.”

  Wilcox was in the courtroom but not sitting at the counsel table. Imposing jail time for contempt had nothing to do with him, so he sat in one of the chairs in front of the railing. But when he heard Goldman make his last statement about “justice” with a straight face, he looked down and shook his head.

  Roth continued to sit impassively, giving Goldman all the time he needed to make his case.

  Goldman was taking his time, didn’t want to make a mistake. “Your Honor, if I've done something wrong, I can assure the court I've learned my lesson. I want to apologize to…to the court.”

  Goldman stopped, cleared his throat, thumbed through some papers sitting in front of him. “Finally, Your Honor, with everything that's happened in this case, the way it ended and all, I think it would be just and fair to set the contempt sentences aside. Thank you, Your Honor.”

  Contempt of court was an offense against the court. Whether Goldman would do time was completely up to Judge Roth.

  Roth realized that in reality he was responsible for most of Goldman's misconduct. He’d instructed Jake to tell him to come on strong and to make disparaging remarks about everyone, including him. And sometimes Roth let Goldman and Wilcox fight it out instead of making quick rulings and taking better control of the attorneys.

  And if it weren't for Goldman’s misconduct, Wilcox wouldn’t have responded, Roth wouldn't have stopped the trial, and Mangano would still be sitting in jail. There was no doubt about it, Goldman was the guy saving Jake's life.

  Judge Roth thought about all those things.

  He was also aware that he may have given Goldman the impression that he could expect leniency if he didn’t withdraw from the case.

  “Okay, Mr. Goldman, I’ve heard your comments and I’ll take them into consideration. Do you have anything else to add on your behalf?”

  “No, Your Honor.” He sighed and stood waiting.