Chapter 22
JUSTICES TO STAND FIRM DESPITE
THREATS FROM DRUG KINGPINS
Judge Haufensehn couldn’t help but notice the headline glaring at him from where he sat inside his carriage. He whistled to the driver, who stopped immediately, and Judge Haufensehn hopped out of the carriage with the alacrity of a schoolboy, paid the young man for a newspaper, and then hopped back into the carriage, closing the door behind him firmly.
“Inside sources have informed the Gazette that one or more justices of the District of Selgen Circuit have received threats warning them it would be in their corporeal interest to find SISA unconstitutional and fatal for them to find otherwise. Nonetheless, per our sources, the justices insist they will not be bullied by such ignominious criminals, and one even reportedly said that he laments not being a trial court judge, as he would savor the opportunity to send these villains on a well-earned trip to the gallows.
“Some are scratching their heads, wondering why the drug lords want SISA invalidated. After all, it is no secret that a new criminal class is emerging that makes the crime lords of yesteryear seem like filthy paupers, and they have the illegality of SISA to thank, since previously Smokeless Green sold at a scintilla of the price.
“Some speculate the reason may be that drug lords are beginning to look outside Selegania’s borders, where Smokeless Green is also illegal and where there is no strong corollary to Article 8 to threaten its illegal status. Some think the drug lords wish to turn Selegania into a safe haven from which they can then export the drug to places where it is illegal, earning unthinkable profit margins in the process.”
The newspaper was The Republic’s Gazette, a very small newspaper. To the best of Judge Haufensehn’s knowledge, its only journalist was its owner, Stephen Randalls. The office was located only a few miles from his home.
This news left his head spinning. First, he had been threatened by a vigilante group that he must not only find SISA constitutional but also convince the other two circuit justices to do the same. Now, he was learning that one or both of them was being threatened to come to the opposite conclusion.
His bowels groaned and his heart ached, as he thought of the weakening prospects of ever seeing his wife and son alive again, and the dilemma of whether to risk going to the authorities weighed heavily upon his soul.
When he arrived at the courthouse, it was 8 a.m., and oral arguments were scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. His worry over his wife and son relegated his interest in the newspaper article to an inferior position, and when he walked into the conference room to meet with the other justices, it quickly caught the eye of Chief Justice Revdel, who said, “May I?” while grabbing the newspaper from Haufensehn before receiving an answer.
“This is outrageous! I’ve received no such threats. Judge Beckle?”
Justice Beckle shook his head.
“It’s settled then. I’ll file suit against this two-bit newspaper tomorrow for calumny. Hmphhh! This journalist is trying to make a name for himself by printing a foundationless, sensationalist story!”
“But how can you prove a negative?” Beckle asked.
“Simple, I will call you two as my witnesses, and I myself will testify. With all three justices swearing under oath that no such threats have been received by this office, we’ll easily clear the preponderance of the evidence standard!”
“But it paints us in a rather positive light. Even if the story is false, what would the damages be?”
“My dear Justice Beckle, you should brush up on more antiquated case law in your spare time. Rodville v. The Seleganian Post held that, when it is knowingly and falsely published that a judge or officeholder has been subjected to a threat or a bribe offer, this in and of itself causes damage to the judge or officeholder because even if the publication states the threat or bribe offer was ignored it can create suspicion about the integrity of that judge’s, or officeholder’s, future decisions or acts.”
Judge Beckle mostly managed to hide the baleful look he gave to the chief justice, but it did not escape Judge Haufensehn’s hawk-like attention. Chief Justice Revdel had an encyclopedic memory of cases, which was at times inspiring and other times vexing.
“It’s a lose-lose proposition,” Judge Haufensehn said, immediately drawing a curious, yet unmistakably reproachful glare from the chief justice. “If we failed to meet our burden, we would not only give this upstart journalist an unhealthy amount of unwarranted attention—which, of course, is his ultimate aim, you understand—but would also validate his wild claims. And even if we were to prevail, he would still acquire his sought-after limelight and probably even acquire a martyr’s sympathy. We would then appear as conspirators who succeeded in covering up the truth due to the collegial bias the trial court judge had for his fellow wearers of the black robe.”
“You’ve had your coffee this morning,” Justice Haufensehn. “I can’t say I see a flaw in your logic—cynical and cold though it is. But I won’t suffer another calumny such as this. The next time, I will file suit, with or without the assistance of my appellate colleagues!” the chief justice said with a bit of annoyance.
“Well, calumnies and future lawsuits aside, let us talk about the legal case at hand,” the chief justice resumed. “Do either of you care to state a position on this matter now, or have you entered with an open mind ready to be dazzled by the rhetorical skills of a senator-slash-attorney versus a crack team of the district attorney’s best litigators?”
“Constitutional, without a doubt!” Haufensehn said, with far more enthusiasm than he intended.
“I agree!” said Justice Beckle, whose countenance also immediately suggested he had intended less passion to be evident in his voice.
“Well, why waste time on oral argument then?” said the chief justice. “You two walked in with your mind made up!” he added acerbically. “I thought the two of you remembered what it was like to spend a hundred hours preparing a speech for men you hoped to impress and whose favor you badly needed for the sake of your client!” he finished with a self-righteous, yet sincere, tone.
It was at this moment that Justice Haufensehn realized he had given the actual legal merits of the case far less attention than he ought to. Truth be told, he had given them next to no attention whatsoever. Images of his wife bound and being subjected to Kasani only knew what kind of degrading treatment somehow seemed to consistently acquire the dominance of his thoughts.
Seeking to save face, he said, “You’re right, Chief Justice. I think I should hear the oral arguments before making up my mind for certain. Perhaps I spoke too quickly just to make it clear I’m not going to kowtow to criminal threats!” This time the enthusiasm he showed was intentional, and it was genuine, but its ostensible source was not.
“Well, that’s more like it,” Chief Justice Revdel replied. “Remember, this is probably going to the Supreme Court no matter what we decide, so if you two want to just decide this thing based off of gut instinct rather than proper legal analysis, have fun watching your opinion get cut to shreds by the Supreme Court, while my concurring or dissenting opinion gets accolades throughout the world of jurisprudence,” he finished with paramount self-satisfaction.
Chief Justice Revdel heard no argument from his two fellow justices after this, but neither could he elicit any discussion from them. Flustered, he called off the meeting and went to his office.
Haufensehn entered his own, buried his head in his hands, and wept, his knees trembling at the thought of the weight he now bore on his shoulders. But at his point of deepest despair, his subconscious brought Justice Beckle’s odd behavior to his attention, and he began to wonder if he was not the only one who had been visited by the mysterious vigilantes.
Before he could pursue this line of analysis any further, he saw that it was now 9:59 a.m. He donned his robe and began trotting towards the courtroom.
The International Businessman Page 24