A few days later, more out of frustration than anything else, Jaywalker sat down at his desk-hed had one in those days-and knocked out what he called a Demand for a Supplemental Bill of Particulars. In it, he asked that the prosecution be directed to furnish him a laundry list of things, including the names of trial witnesses, all reports theyd prepared and any past disciplinary actions taken against them. He wanted not only the lab reports and chemists notes, but the right to an independent analysis of the drugs by his own expert. He requested more specificity regarding the precise times and locations of the various sales. And then, even though hed seen the answer with his own eyes, he asked whether any confidential informers had been involved in any way with the case. Did he distrust Daniel Pulaski? Yes, as a matter of fact. But that wasnt the point. Pulaski was only the assistant district attorney. Hed caught the case after it had already been made by New York City detectives, New York State Police investigators and federal agents. Maybe he didnt really know if thered been a CI involved. Maybe that pink sheet of paper with NONE inked on it didnt know, either.
Besides, a part of him wanted to send Pulaski a message, to put him on notice that unlike Alonzo Barnetts three previous lawyers, this one wasnt going to roll over and play dead. With nothing to work with, Jaywalker might not be able to win the case, but he sure was going to give it his best shot.
He received Pulaskis response in the mail four days later. It argued that motions had already been made within the statutory forty-five-day period allowed following arraignment, responded to in a timely fashion by the People and decided by the court. Mr. Jaywalker, Pulaski pointed out, was exactly 195 days late in asking for the relief he sought.
And despite her good nature and sense of fairness, Judge Levine found herself compelled to agree the next time the case came up in front of her. But even as she denied Jaywalkers demand as untimely, she turned to Pulaski and said, Surely you can give him the lab reports, and the times and places of the sales, cant you?
Ill send him the lab reports, Pulaski grunted. The rest of the stuff he gets after we pick a jury. Just like the law requires.
And how about the confidential informer business? she asked him.
I already showed him the form that indicates there was no CI.
So how did this case ever get initiated? Jaywalker asked, hoping to pique the judges curiosity and enlist her help. The usual route, they all knew, began with an informer telling his handlers that he knew a dealer he might be able to introduce an undercover to.
Thats evidence, Pulaski snapped. Youll find out at trial.
Ahh, said Jaywalker. The old trial-by-ambush strategy.
Boys, boys, the judge scolded. Then, knowing that Pulaski was correct that he could withhold the information, but only in a technical sense, she suggested he might want to give them a clue. Come on, she prodded him. How about at least a hint or two?
Fine, the A.D.A. snapped. The case began with an anonymous tip.
There, said Levine. That wasnt so hard, was it?
Pulaski said nothing. Evidently it had been.
Now, said the judge. Are you gentlemen sure we cant dispose of the case?
Ive offered counsel the minimum, Pulaski was quick to point out. Eight-to-life on an A-2.
And while my client appreciates the prosecutions generosity, said Jaywalker, he prefers to take his chances at trial.
Then a trial he shall have, said Levine. When can you gentlemen be ready to begin? This things getting almost as old as I am.
They agreed on a date three weeks away. It actually wasnt all that long an adjournment, considering the fact that Jaywalker had been on the case less than two months. Then again, with no defense to raise and no witnesses to call other than the defendant himself, there wasnt all that much for him to do between now and then, either.
Not that he wouldnt come up with enough to keep himself busy.
He spent the better part of three straight days in the Tombs with Alonzo Barnett. What began as preparation for testifying gradually turned into an extended conversation. Barnett, Jaywalker decided, would make an excellent witness. He was a good listener and an excellent storyteller. He had a nice self-effacing quality about him, an attribute that was bound to come in handy when he was forced to describe his career as a drug dealer.
No longer a young man, Barnett had no rough edges to him and no anger seething within him. He came across as nonthreatening. He wasnt handsome, at least not in a Hollywood way, but he was nice to look at. And he had a deep, almost melodic voice. Most of all, he was intelligent. He used three-and four-syllable words, but for precision rather than show. His habit of pausing before answering a question made him seem thoughtful instead of glib. And there was an undercurrent of sadness to just about everything he said-until he got to the subject of his daughters. Then his eyes would light up, the skin at the outer corners would crinkle, and a broad smile would spread across his face, only to be replaced a moment later by a grimace, as he remembered how his most recent transgression had betrayed them and separated him from them once again, this time probably for good.
Yes, Jaywalker decided, Barnett would make a terrific witness, even a game-changing one-in some other case. In this one, all of his listening skills and storytelling ability would be for naught. His self-effacing, nonthreatening demeanor might win him points with the jurors, but in the end, it wouldnt be enough to win him their votes. His pleasant looks, melodic voice and palpable intelligence simply werent going to be enough. Not even his obvious devotion to his daughters would translate into an acquittal. It was going to be one of those cases that ended in a conviction punctuated by a bit of muffled sobbing in the jury box, perhaps even accompanied by a recommendation of leniency. A recommendation that Shirley Levine would be happy to bow to, if only the legislature had seen fit to allow her.
And for Jaywalker, the worst part of it was that over the course of those three days, he became genuinely fond of Barnett. Not that he didnt eventually come to like almost all of clients; he did. But that was more a reflection of how Jaywalker treated them, especially when viewed in the context of how the rest of the world had treated them up to that point. With Barnett, it was different. Here was a man who, in spite of his past history and his present charges, was so thoroughly engaging that there were times-especially back home, late at night-when Jaywalker would worry if he wasnt getting too close to his client and running something of the same risk a physician ran when he undertook to operate on a member of his own immediate family. In a world filled with lawyers who cared too little about their clients, leave it to Jaywalker to lose sleep over the possibility that he was beginning to care too much.
And then, a week before the trial was scheduled to begin, Daniel Pulaski phoned. Well, he told Jaywalker, you lucked out.
Oh? Hows that?
Ive been promoted to the Investigations Division, he said. Im going to have to reassign almost all of my trial cases.
Congratulations, said Jaywalker. But why not keep this one? By that time hed convinced himself that as much as he disliked Pulaski, the mans sarcasm and sneakiness could actually end up working to the defenses advantage. What better way to highlight Alonzo Barnetts likableness, after all, than to pit him against a slimeball, a thoroughly unlikable cross-examiner?
Congratulations, said Jaywalker. But why not keep this one? By that time hed convinced himself that as much as he disliked Pulaski, the mans sarcasm and sneakiness could actually end up working to the defenses advantage. What better way to highlight Alonzo Barnetts likableness, after all, than to pit him against a slimeball, a thoroughly unlikable cross-examiner?
Dont take offense, said Pulaski, immediately ensuring that Jaywalker would. But from the Peoples point of view, this case pretty much tries itself, even with you at the defense table. Anyway, its not like Im handing it off to some loser. Im giving it to a rising young star in the office.
And who might that be?
Pulaski had asked if he happened to know Mickey Shaughnessey.
Never heard the name, confessed Jaywalker.
Well, you will, Pulaski assured him. You and the rest of the do-gooders on the defense side. Im only sorry I wont be there to watch the sparks fly.
A street fighter, huh?
You might say that. Pulaski laughed. Well, you two have fun. Followed by a click.
So the slimeball had been replaced by a brawler. Fair enough, Jaywalker decided. Alonzo Barnetts thoughtful, quiet intelligence might come off even better against a red-faced, two-fisted Irishman.
Although it was far from the top of his list of favorite things to do, Jaywalker spent the next day hitting the books. He wanted to check out a seldom-used defense called agency. At least that was its short name, sort of how Jaywalker was short for Harrison J. Walker. Technically termed agent of the buyer, it went something like this.
A drug deal often involves more than just two people. There are the hand-to-hand participants, the seller and the buyer. But frequently theres a cast of supporting characters. There can be a broker, the guy who puts the seller and buyer together, and in that respect acts not all that differently from a real estate broker. There can be a middleman, somebody who positions himself between the seller and the buyer. For a piece of the action, whether that turns out to be cash, drugs or both, he serves to insulate the principals from each other, lest one be looking to either rip off or arrest the other. Then theres the connection, the sellers immediate source of supply, and his connection, on up the ladder. There may be a moneyman, separate and distinct from the seller. There may be a stash man, who sits on the drugs, a re-up man to replenish the supply, a lookout to watch out for the Man and even a gofer or two.
Under the law of acting in concert, all these individuals are equally guilty of participating in the sale. With one exception, of course, and thats the buyer. Not even the vast breadth of the acting-in-concert law can ignore the fact that since hes the one whos purchasing the drugs, the buyer cant at the same time be selling them.