by Неизвестный
Edna McDermott began, “If anything had been done to hurt that ‘illegal,’ it must have been the other boys, not our Eddie.”
The other boys were not Buck’s problem for now as there was certainly no way an actual joint defense was in the making.
“That’s all we really know. Can you help us?”
Now came what was often the hard part in a situation like this–the money! While Buck did not necessarily live a flashy lifestyle, he had become fairly comfortable over the years from his practice which had included several successful personal injury case results. It was not unusual for criminal defense attorneys to include plaintiff’s contingent fee personal injury work as part of their practices. That part of his practice, quite frankly, gave him the luxury of taking an occasional criminal case where the compensation might not (and frequently did not) match the effort required.
Probably more important than all of these matters was the fact that Buck Johnson was worth every penny of the fee he charged. The idea of “you get what you pay for” was never more true than in criminal defense. Moreover, this case had some damn serious consequences! The death penalty? Maybe. Life in prison? Very possibly. Put away as a guest of the government for a very, very long time? Highly likely. Even though Eddie may not have been the leader of the pack, this was some serious shit and, as everyone knows, “SRDH” (shit rolls down hill) and this shit was likely to land right in Eddie McDermott’s lap.
As the conversation continued, before Buck ever had the opportunity to open the dollars and cents of it, Mr. McDermott said, “How the hell much is this going to cost me?”
Buck wondered whether the tone of Mr. McDermott was just that of the head of a household watching the family expenses or whether he was not as certain as his wife about their little boy, the issue was on the table.
Buck was prepared and began by laying out just the preliminary uncertainties about where this case was going. Buck pulled no punches about
the seriousness of what Eddie faced.
“Look, Mr. and Mrs. McDermott, there is virtually no way Eddie’s going to walk on this one.” Buck indicated that the exact criminal charges were not even known yet.
“The significance of a ‘hate crime,’ as it will be called, means added penalties could result.”
It was typically a lot for parents to absorb so using a measured summary so as not to flatly confuse them at this point, he tried to generally summarize the path the defense of Eddie would likely take–arraignment, hearings, investigation, motions and ultimately trial.
Buck laid it on the line, “I will require a $50,000 retainer at this point. I can not guarantee that it might not cost more. In addition, I will need to hire a private investigator and likely forensic consultants to help with Eddie’s defense. I am willing to agree to $25,000 immediately to get started and the other $25,000 would have to be paid within 30 days.”
Buck told the McDermott’s he would know more at that time where this was really going, whether a plea bargain was potentially in the offing or whether this was going all the way to trial.
Buck half expected that this might be the end of the conversation and was ready to tell the McDermott’s about the Public Defender’s Office. To his somewhat surprise, they did not flinch.
Mr. McDermott advised, “Look Mr. Johnson, I make a comfortable salary at the casino and we used our home and some acreage that was free and clear of debt as collateral for a loan. Sal Mangioni is standing behind me.”
Buck later learned specifically that the Native American tribe that owned the casino gave Mr. McDermott a substantial line of credit secured by his home and land.
Buck thought to himself, “Never, never judge a book by its cover or fix your perceptions from what you initially observe!”
Friday, September 21
Buck Johnson’s Office, 3 p.m.
Buck picked up the phone, deciding to call Kyra O’Neill and tell her he had been retained to represent Eddie McDermott and to discuss her intentions for arraignment, charges to be presented, timing, and the long shot of bail.
Kyra answered her phone on the third ring. She saw on the caller ID that it was none other than Buck Johnson. Some joked that Buck was San Diego’s answer to Gerry Spence, the nationally renowned “cowboy” lawyer. Kyra’s father and Buck had been friends and jointly participated in various civic causes. Buck and his reputation were known to Kyra. Buck was thought to be just a bit quirky but, more importantly, a smart, straightforward and honest lawyer.
As a prosecutor, Kyra had already seen her fill of the other kind who practiced criminal defense and did not necessarily exhibit those traits.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” Kyra inquired.
“Are you inviting me for a ride on that famous Harley hog of yours?” Kyra’s dad had been an aficionado of the big bikes as well and she had ridden “two up” more than once.
“Kyra, that would be fun, but unfortunately this is a business call. It looks like we both now have drawn an interesting case, Eddie McDermott.”
Kyra immediately thought to herself, “How can Eddie McDermott afford Buck Johnson?”
Kyra was polite enough and professional enough not to ask that question out loud. As always in the legal arena, it was better to deal with quality opposing counsel than many of the dirt bags she had encountered.
“Buck, as the duty deputy, I went out to the site as quickly as I could and was actually present at McDermott”s arrest.”
“Despite protestations of his distraught mother, there was no doubt of Eddie’s presence at the scene of the crime and his involvement.”
Kyra dispensed with huffing and puffing about a “hate crime” and “murder one” and “lying in wait” and “the death penalty” and “trying Eddie as an adult.” She knew that Buck was fully aware of the seriousness of the situation and there was plenty of time in the future to fight those battles.
“As you might imagine, Buck, this quickly after the arrest, I’m not certain I will get to retain the case as lead or second chair. That decision is above my pay grade. I assume that decision will be made by Monday or Tuesday. I will let you know as soon as I find out.”
“Are you okay with a Tuesday arraignment?” she inquired.
“I’m good with that.”
Saturday, September 22
County Jail, 9:30 a.m.
Buck decided to go over to the jail and met with Eddie McDermott. Buck got to the jail at about 9:30 a.m. Eddie was sitting quietly in his cell. Buck asked the deputy on duty if he could arrange for a place in the lawyer visiting room for them to talk. Based on the very serious nature of the crime, Eddie was shackled and delivered to the room where Buck was waiting. Buck asked that the cuffs and shackles be removed, and the deputy obliged. Based on their knowledge of Buck, the deputies usually trusted his judgment and followed his requests.
Buck introduced himself to Eddie. Buck intended to use this occasion to simply tell Eddie what to expect over the next few days. Eddie appeared calm under the circumstances. That was sure to change as the reality began to set in.
“Eddie, your parents have asked me to represent you.” Eddie just shrugged and said nothing.
“Is that okay with you?”
“Yah, sure,” was all Eddie said.
“Eddie, not much is going to happen over the weekend so just sit tight, don’t speak to anyone and, if any real problem happens, ask the deputies to call me.
“The Arraignment, where they tell us the actual charges will occur on
Tuesday. I’ll be back Monday morning for us to talk more. Any questions?”
Looking down, “Nah” was once again, the only response.
Between now and Tuesday, Buck’s work was cut out for him. He would begin to lay out an outline for the work ahead. Although he knew the drill in detail, he still faced many unknowns and Buck remained a dogged believer that there was no substitute for relentless preparation. That’s what he expected of himself and that is what all of his adversarie
s knew would occur.
At the conclusion, he said to Eddie, “I’ll be back Monday. I’ll need a full
description of everything you can remember about the events Thursday
afternoon. Again we’ll know more Tuesday what we have to face.”
Monday, September 24
Buck Johnson’s Office, 9 a.m.
On Monday morning, before Buck headed over to the jail to meet with Eddie, his secretary buzzed into his office to tell him Deputy DA Kyra O’Neill was on the line. He picked up the phone, “Top ‘o the morning to you, Kyra” (not that he had any significant amount of Irish background in him to his knowledge. He just liked the saying and had sort of adopted it as his a.m. opening line).
“Buck,” Kyra began, “The office has still not finally determined the handling prosecution team, but I will be handling Tuesday’s proceedings.” Buck listened without comment as she outlined the list of charges that the office would likely charge McDermott with.
“I can also tell you that this list will be the maximum and there is some chance it will be pared down.”
Buck, replied, “I appreciate the courtesy.”
Buck asked Kyra about the other suspects and whether they had counsel as of yet. Kyra responded, “To the best of my knowledge, both other boys won’t be able to afford counsel and will be looking to the Public Defender’s Office for representation. This was not the best of news for Buck’s hopes of getting any help from the other lawyers who might become involved. Budgetary restraints and workloads facing the PD’s office would mean that Buck would not have much assistance in any aspect of the case where a joint defense among all three could benefit Eddie.
Buck made a mental note to call over to the PD’s office to see who was expected to be involved for the other two boys.
Buck thanked Kyra for the update and told her he would see and talk to her on Tuesday, if not before then.
Buck reminded himself that he needed to call Eddie’s parents to update them on everything. They had leveraged their lives to pay for the defense of “mama’s baby boy.”
In the meantime, Buck called out to his secretary. “Please call the McDermotts and tell them I am going over to the jail to see Eddie. I plan on getting the details of what happened out there so we can be ready for the Arraignment on Tuesday morning. Please also tell them that I would like them present at the Arraignment.”
Monday, September 24
County Jail, 10 a.m.
Buck arrived at the jail about 10:00 a.m. and arranged for an interview room. It was likely to be a long session.
Again, somewhat to Buck’s surprise, Eddie seemed relatively calm. Was this no more than teen bravado? Was Eddie, in fact, a sociopath? Or, had
his predicament just not sunk in yet?
Before Buck could even take a seat, Eddie blurted out, “Where are Jack and Tommy?” referring to his pals Jack Robinson and Tommy Snyder.
“Look Eddie, I don’t have any details but they have been taken into custody.”
“Are you representing them too?” Buck told Eddie that he would not be representing them as that would be a “conflict of interest.” That also was going to have to be explained to Eddie.
A bit calmer again, Eddie said, “Are they blaming me?”
“Well, the police and DA certainly are.”
“No, I mean are Jack and Tommy saying I did it?”
Buck tried to explain, “Eddie, at this point I don’t know what anyone is saying, but rest assured they will likely be pointing the finger in full or in part at you. That is the way of the world.”
“But please, let’s start with last Thursday afternoon. Tell me all you remember.”
“I went over to Anderson’s after school to get a Dew and cool off. Jack was already there just sittin and starin. Tommy came over a few minutes after I got there. Tommy is a reckless dude. He hates all the ‘Mesicans’ for the jobs they take from honest Americans. He thinks they’re nothing but thieves and run our country.”
Eddie then continued with a surprisingly clear and organized account of the events of the day that he and his buddies gathered at Anderson’s.
“Tommy always said that you weren’t even safe in your own backyard.”
“ Tommy then jumped up and said, ‘hey I got a good idea.’ Lets keep an eye on Dante’s and when one of the ‘Mesicans’ at Dante’s comes out, we can jump the ‘beaner’ and get back some of the money that the sons of bitches steal from law-abiding Americans.”
“Honest, I never intended to do anything more than roust the guy.”
“Okay Eddie, I have seen the pictures of the victim’s body and this was not a little ‘roust.’ ”
After further questioning, Eddie said, “Look, I may have picked up a board of some kind on the way over but I really only hit the guy with my fists and I never used the board on him. Once we jumped him over by the wash basin, it all happened so fast that I couldn’t tell what was actually going on. I thought Tommy may have picked up a brick and hit the guy with it but I’m not really sure.”
Eddie rambled on, “Yah, Tommy messed up the beaner, but no way he shoulda died from what we did.”
At that Eddie broke down for the first time and sobbed.
“Look Eddie, try to take it easy, we’ll get you through this.”
After a few minutes they continued. Eddie said, “As soon as that older guy came out of the front door of the bar, we split. I didn’t know what to do. The whole thing got way out of control. When I got home, I started to clean up and shit. I wasn’t even thinking no more. The next thing I knew, the cops showed up.”
After an hour and a half, Buck decided that they had gone on long enough for this first real day of interview. Buck asked Eddie if he needed anything.
“No, everything’s fine. The food is crap, but I’ll survive.” Amazingly calm for someone in his shoes.
The most significant thing to come out of the meeting as far as Buck was concerned was Eddie's insistence, “There was no way the beaner shoulda died.”
Buck had not yet seen the autopsy report but had assumed that the cause of death was pretty clear. He then remembered the old adage that, “to assume makes an‘ASS’ out of ‘U’ and ‘ME.’ ” He hoped that was right in this case.
Buck realized that he needed to get the autopsy report ASAP and talk to the medical examiner’s office. He did not have anything really to go on for his defense so he needed to start at the beginning.
He had dealt with the Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Rebecca Louden, many times. He shared with her a love of fishing, a topic they discussed whenever they saw each other. However, she seemed to get more time on the water than he did. Buck mused, “I need to work on that!”
Tuesday, September 25
Courtroom Of Judge Rhonda Goodman, 10 a.m.
As departments of the courts were currently organized, Buck had known they would likely draw Judge Rhonda Goodman. Buck knew “Ronnie” quite well, although he would clearly only address her as Ronnie in more informal social settings. Some would say that drawing a judge who was a former prosecutor was a recipe for disaster for a criminal defense lawyer, but in Buck’s opinion, that was not necessarily the case with Judge Goodman.
Whether it was a matter of seeing the good and the bad of the criminal justice system or that she just had a good, fair and balanced mind and heart, Judge Goodman was as decent a judge as he could get for this case. She was a judge who, while a stickler for decorum, civility, and respect for the court and the process, let the lawyers try their case and you could not ask for more than that.
Her courtroom was an interesting combination of formality in a comfortable setting. Some more cynical observers said Judge Goodman just couldn’t abide “stupid people.” That was a pretty harsh overstatement but it was clear that any lawyer in her courtroom was best served by thinking before opening his or her mouth. She was insistent on not wasting the system’s time.
Jurors seemed to love her and they never doubted that she was in cont
rol, but she did not intimidate them. She was sensitive to their time and their burden although filling an important responsibility of serving as a trial juror. This was especially clear in an extended matter and this case was likely to be one of those.