“The movie star?” Ellen piped in.
“Yes,” Golic said with a smile.
“Cool!”
“I don’t want to keep you and your lovely family on such a day,” Vacinovic said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” He and Golic waved goodbye and melted into the crowd.
“What’s happening tomorrow?” Diane asked.
“I’ll tell you later.”
Diane frowned. “That guy shows up at the strangest places. First he came to our house at night, now he’s at Madurodam – a children’s place – with his big friend and no kids. I don’t trust him.”
“Do you think he’s following us?” Kevin asked, open to the possibility.
“I don’t know.”
“I know one thing. Mr. Golic is not my client’s brother-in-law.”
“How do you know that?” Ellen asked.
“Do you remember how he said he was the brother of Draga’s wife?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, when I asked Draga how they were related, he said that Golic was married to one of his sisters.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Well, there’s two ways you can be a brother-in-law. You can be married to somebody’s sister, right?”
“Yeah,” Ellen said, following Kevin so far.
“Or you can be the brother of somebody’s wife.”
“I get it. Golic and Draga gave you two different stories?”
“Right.”
“You’re smart, Daddy.”
“Coming from you, that’s a real compliment.”
Kevin put his arm around Ellen as they walked back to their car.
On Monday morning, Kevin was seated at his usual place at the defense counsel table when Judge Davidson swept into the courtroom.
“Prosecutor versus Dragoljub Zaric,” the Deputy Registrar called. “Case number IT-96-30. State your appearances please.”
“Bradford Stone for the Prosecution.”
“Kevin Anderson for the accused,”
“And I am a lawyer from Belgrade, Your Honor,” the man seated next to Kevin announced. “I am an attorney for the government of Serbia and Montenegro. My government would like to join in the Motion for Return of Property filed on behalf of the accused.”
Judge Davidson looked at the lawyer sternly. “This is a hearing on Mr. Anderson’s contempt.”
“I thought perhaps the Court might address the legality of the searches of our Embassy and Mr. Anderson’s home as well, since the issues appear to be intertwined with the alleged contempt.”
Kevin appreciated the Belgrade lawyer’s use of the word “alleged.”
“We’ll see about that,” Judge Davidson muttered. Turning to Kevin, he said, “Mr. Anderson, this is the time set for you to show cause why you should not be held in contempt for violation of this Court’s protective order.”
“Thank you, Your Honor. I’m ready to call my first witness.”
“We don’t need to hear witnesses. Let me hear what you have to say for yourself.”
“Your Honor, I would like to call a witness who will establish my innocence. It will be much more convincing than anything I have to tell you.”
“Well, make it quick,” Judge Davidson grumbled.
“I call John Wells.”
Wells’ head bolted up from the back row of tables on the prosecution side of the courtroom. Bradford Stone, too, was startled, and was soon on his feet.
“Your Honor,” Stone whined. “He has no right to call our chief investigator as his witness. It’s just an excuse for mischief.”
Judge Davidson turned to Kevin. “This better be relevant to the contempt, counsel, or I’m going to cut your examination right off. Mr. Wells, come forward and take the solemn declaration.”
Wells walked to the witness chair and promised to tell the truth. When he was seated, his look of surprise had been replaced by the look of a snake coiled and ready.
“Mr. Wells,” Kevin asked pleasantly, “as part of your investigation in this matter, did you recover the box of materials from the Post Office that I was seen giving to Zoran Vacinovic at the Embassy of Serbia and Montenegro?”
“Yes, I did.”
Kevin wanted to get right to the point and not give Wells an opportunity to take any gratuitous swipes at him. “It’s true, is it not, that not a single piece of paper in that box related to a protected witness or was covered by the protective order?”
Wells hesitated, trying to find a way to answer the question and damage Kevin. Finally, he replied, “That appears to be the case.”
“I have nothing further,” Kevin announced, sitting down after asking only two questions.
Judge Davidson struggled to assimilate what he had just heard. He slowly turned to Bradford Stone. “Cross-examination, Mr. Stone?”
Bradford Stone stood erect, his chin pointed in the air. “Mr. Wells,” he asked, “who did Mr. Anderson give the materials to?”
“Zoran Vacinovic,” Wells replied, then added, “a high ranking member of the secret police.”
“What ethnic group makes up the secret police?”
“They are all Serbs.”
“And who are the people most likely to retaliate against Muslim witnesses before this Tribunal?”
“The Serbs, especially those in the secret police.”
“Now, when you searched Mr. Anderson’s home, was he on the phone with someone?”
“Yes, Zoran Vacinovic.”
“And what was Mr. Anderson’s demeanor when you searched his home?”
“He was extremely hostile,” Wells responded.
“In your experience, is that the normal reaction of someone who has done nothing wrong?” Stone asked haughtily.
“People who have nothing to hide don’t act like that.”
“No further questions, Your Honor,” Stone said, sitting down triumphantly.
“Any redirect examination?” the judge asked Kevin.
Kevin was sorely tempted to take Wells on, but his instincts told him to leave it alone. Surely he would not be found in contempt simply because he was outraged at the search of his home. “No, thank you, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Stone,” Judge Davidson inquired, “do you wish to call any witnesses?”
“No, Your Honor. Mr. Anderson has called our witness for us. It is plain that Mr. Anderson violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the protective order. Conspiring with a member of the Serbian secret police is a serious matter, regardless of whether the materials were literally covered by the order or not. We don’t know what kind of information Mr. Anderson passed on to the man orally during their two hour lunch, on the telephone, or at other meetings.”
“Mr. Anderson,” Judge Davidson said when Stone had finished, “Do you have anything further to say before I rule?”
“I think Mr. Stone said it best, Your Honor.”
Judge Davidson shot him a quizzical look.
“He said ‘we don’t know.’ They didn’t know what was in the box when they invaded my home and a foreign embassy. Now we do know. And it is clear that no violation of the protective order took place. What is clear, however, is that the searches were illegal, and I would ask the court to order the material returned immediately.”
“What is your position on the search issue, Mr. Stone?”
“Your Honor, there is no reason for the court to have to concern itself with the legality of the search. We do not intend to use any of the seized evidence at Mr. Zaric’s trial. Therefore, even if the search was illegal, which it most assuredly was not, there is no evidence for the court to exclude, and no prejudice to the accused from the searches.”
Kevin was on his feet. “Your Honor, that doesn’t solve the problem one bit. They seized attorney-client materials from my home dealing with our defense strategy. Just having knowledge of the contents of those materials taints their whole case and prejudices the accused, whether they directly use the evidence or not.”
“Wait until I ask for your posi
tion before stating it,” Judge Davidson rebuked Kevin. “Now, Mr. Stone, what about the so-called privileged materials?”
“That is also no problem. Our office has erected a Chinese wall for all of the items seized during these searches. Neither Mr. Jacobson, the investigator on Mr. Zaric’s case, nor I have seen these materials and they will be shielded from us and anyone else who works on this case. Therefore, there will be no use made of any privileged materials against the accused.”
“Very well,” Judge Davidson replied.
Kevin wanted to offer a rebuttal, but the Judge didn’t call on him, so he remained silent.
The lawyer from Belgrade, however, rose from his chair. “Our government’s interests have not been addressed. We would like you to rule the search illegal so that the world knows the truth.”
“The Court will be in recess,” Judge Davidson ordered. “The world will know the truth when we reconvene in thirty minutes.”
CHAPTER 11
Precisely thirty minutes later, Judge Davidson took his seat at the bench. His face, an impassive mask, was impossible to read.
Looking down at his leather book, he began:
“The Court issues the following three orders. First, the motions of the accused and the government of Serbia and Montenegro challenging the searches are denied. The Court finds that the searches of the Embassy and Mr. Anderson’s office and residence were completely lawful and supported by the information known at that time. However, since the prosecution does not plan to use evidence from those searches at the trial, the items seized, and all copies of those items, shall be returned to Mr. Anderson or the Embassy to avoid any claims of violation of the attorney-client privilege.”
Kevin shifted in his seat. He had lost round one, although Judge Davidson had tossed him a bone in the process. At least the prosecution wouldn’t be seeing his memos to Draga – if they had kept all the materials separate as they claimed.
Kevin held his breath as he waited for the ruling on his contempt. Thirty minutes ago, he had been pretty confident. Now, he was not so sure.
“Second,” Judge Davidson continued, “The Court is very troubled by the conduct of Mr. Anderson with respect to the protective order. However, out of an abundance of caution, the Court will reserve its ruling on the contempt issue until the conclusion of Mr. Zaric’s trial. At that time, the Court will have a full record of counsel’s performance from which to determine if this was an isolated incident or part of a pattern of misconduct.”
The judge looked down at Kevin sternly.
“This is strike two, Mr. Anderson. You first showed bad judgment in taking on this case while you were seeking a job with the other side. Now, you delivered discovery materials to the Serbian secret police. I’m warning you. As they say in your country, ‘One more strike and you’re out.’”
Kevin was relieved not to be going to jail, but annoyed that Judge Davidson didn’t dismiss outright the contempt. He was intending to hold it over Kevin’s head as a threat during the remainder of the case.
“Third and finally,” Judge Davidson continued, looking down at his book again, “all pretrial motions must be filed within thirty days. A hearing on those motions will be held in sixty days, on December 1st. Trial will begin on January 8th.”
Judge Davidson quickly left the bench, leaving no doubt that his orders were final.
Kevin got up and walked back to Draga, who was being handcuffed for his departure to the prison. “You can release the room you saved for me,” Kevin said. “And it looks like you’re going to get your speedy trial.”
“Now I just need to get the football scores from yesterday,” Draga said.
“I could have gone to jail here and all you can think of is football?
The guards moved Draga toward the door.
“I’ll be working my butt off for the next three months,” Kevin called after him, “while you’re studying the sports section.”
When Kevin got home that night, Ellen had big news. “Dad, I have a loose tooth,” she exclaimed as he walked in the door. “Look!” She showed him a tooth near the back of her mouth that moved from side to side.
“Great! Does the tooth fairy come in Holland?”
“We’re going to find out. I hope the tooth comes out before I go to bed.”
Kevin had already told Diane about the favorable ruling at the contempt hearing, but at dinner he gave her and Ellen more details about his day in court.
“Is that mean old guy going to be the judge at Draga’s trial?” Ellen asked with one hand in her mouth wiggling her tooth.
“Fortunately, he’ll only be one of three judges. For our pretrial motions and the trial, the whole trial chamber will be involved.”
“Do you know who the other judges are?” Diane asked.
“The presiding judge is a woman, Juan Orozco of Chile. She was a Justice of the Chilean Supreme Court, and has been at the Tribunal for two years. I’ve heard that she’s a nice person and a fair judge, but that Judge Davidson takes over in court. Sometimes he even rules on objections without consulting her.”
“What about the other judge?” Ellen asked, carefully selecting a hard roll to try to dislodge the tooth.
“Judge Francisco Linares of the Philippines. He was President of the Philippine Senate before becoming a judge at the Tribunal. He’s been a judge for less than a year, but from what I hear he’s brought with him the strong law and order mentality prevalent in his country.”
“Just the kind of judge you would have wanted in the states,” Diane said.
“You’re right,” Kevin said wearily.
The phone interrupted their dinner.
“Will you get it, Ellen?” Diane asked. “It’s probably for you anyway.”
The Andersons routinely received two or three calls a night from Ellen’s classmates with questions about their homework. Ellen had already established herself as one of the brainy kids in her class.
“I’m busy with my tooth, can you get it, Dad?” Ellen asked as she positioned the roll under her loose tooth in preparation for a big bite.
Kevin got up and answered the phone. “Ellen’s Homework Service.”
Ellen turned bright red. “That’s the last time I let you answer the phone.” She gave Kevin the evil eye as he handed her the phone. “Don’t mind my dad,” she said to her friend apologetically. “He’s kinda weird.”
Kevin and Diane continued their conversation while Ellen looked up something in her math book. “I did get some good news, today,” Kevin said. “My investigator, Mihajlo Golic, came up with some information on Draga’s kidnapping.”
“The big guy we saw at Madurodam yesterday?”
“Yeah. He got copies of Belgrade police reports. The police believe the kidnappers were paid by people working with the U.N. Security Forces.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Well, it’s not exactly airtight proof, but it’s enough to support a motion to dismiss the case based on an illegal arrest. We’ll see what the prosecution comes back with.”
The next morning, Kevin and Ellen left on their bicycles together. Ellen had wiggled her tooth out last night and was exclaiming over the shiny Euro coin the tooth fairy had left her. “Where do you think the tooth fairy gets the foreign money?” she asked Kevin.
“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a currency exchange booth at the fairy airport.”
Ellen headed north to the American School, while Kevin went south to The Hague.
From his office in the Tribunal, Kevin called Nihudian.
“I can’t find an investigator to work for Draga,” Nihudian reported. “I think I talked to every investigator in Sarajevo.”
“Damn, this defense lawyer job is tough. I used to have all kinds of investigators at my disposal. FBI, DEA, Secret Service. Now I can’t even find anyone to help.”
“I have an idea, Kevin. How about if I do the investigation, with the help of the students in my history classes? I’m not experienced in this kin
d of thing, but I would work hard and it would be a great learning opportunity for my students.”
Kevin thought for a minute. He had no real alternative. “We could give it a try. If it seems like too much work or if it makes you uncomfortable, let me know.”
“I would be honored to assist you, Kevin. I know you will be fair with the witnesses, so I have nothing to be ashamed of in helping you. And I owe you so much.”
“You don’t owe me anything. You already paid my fee, remember?”
Kevin felt better after talking to Nihudian. He wasn’t a professional investigator, but he had been a policeman and was someone Kevin trusted. The latter counted for a lot these days.
After spending the rest of the week researching his other pretrial motions, Kevin headed over to the detention center for his regular Friday afternoon meeting with Draga. His client would have a fit if Kevin didn’t show up in time to make their weekend football picks.
Kevin decided to pick up some pannekoeken for Draga and the guards. These were huge Dutch pancakes, the size of a Frisbee, which were made with fruit, cheese, meat, or just powdered sugar on top. The Dutch ate them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
“Have you ever had pannekoeken?” Kevin asked Draga when the two men met in the interview room.
“Pan-a-what-kin?”
Kevin opened the box and showed them to Draga.
“From the size of the portions, I like them already,” Draga said.
As the two men dug in – cutting the large, thin pancakes with plastic knives – Draga pulled out the sports section and a piece of paper.
“You got lucky last weekend,” he said. “You’re ahead by 50 Euros. But not for long.”
“If you want to give your money away, I’ll take it. Let’s see the lineup for this week.”
Draga handed Kevin the paper and went back to work on his food.
“These are good,” Draga said through a mouthful.
After Kevin had made his picks and endured Draga’s predictions of doom, Kevin brought up the case. “I want to be clear with you what motions I’m filing on your behalf. I’m filing a motion to dismiss your case based upon an illegal arrest, as well as a motion for disclosure of intelligence agency files – the graymail motion. I want the Court to make the intelligence agencies reveal any information they have on you or the Black Dragons.”
The TRIBUNAL Page 11