Thirty
Court reconvened the following morning, and Emily’s eyelids felt like they were lined with sandpaper. She waited until the last possible moment before the judge came in before entering the room, and chose a seat in the back corner of the room, physically as far from Trent as she could be. She remembered all too well the magnetic pull of his hand to hers, and was not sure she could trust herself not to recant last night’s conversation in a spectacularly public and probably futile way. She wore dark glasses, and remained inconspicuous in the crowd until he had passed her and walked to the front of the courtroom. She saw him looking around for her.
The judge began with little preamble.
“Firstly, let me say to you, Ms. Alexander that I am very sorry for the circumstances under which we meet. You have suffered a terrible accident and will no doubt live with its sequelae for the rest of your life.
“However,” he continued. “There has been no evidence presented here which gives me reason to believe it was anything other than a tragic accident. There is no proof of any negligent behaviour on the part of Mr. Buchanan, nor any of his employees or associates. Never having been a teenaged girl myself, I cannot comprehend what drove you, Ms. Alexander, to behave the way you did that evening. It seems a miracle that you are here today, walking and talking. Of course, I would encourage the exercise of extreme caution when driving a motor vehicle through a crowd of people, regardless of any other circumstances, an admonition which I suspect is unnecessary in this case, as the driver has shown suitable remorse.
“My question for you and your legal advisors, Ms. Alexander, is how this suit actually made it to a courtroom. There has been nothing sworn here today which indicates that Mr. Buchanan acted in any way inappropriately. For this reason, I must find for the defendant. I would have expected, perhaps, that the driver might be named; the fact that only Mr. Buchanan was named in this suit indicates to me that this was merely an attempt to capitalize on Mr. Buchanan’s fame. Worse, it was a cash grab. For this reason, I am ordering the plaintiff to pay court costs. This matter is adjourned.”
The judge banged his gavel and rose from the table. The room erupted into animated conversation, and Emily ducked quickly out the back door, into the anonymity of the crowd.
The judge began with little preamble.
“Firstly, let me say to you, Ms. Alexander that I am very sorry for the circumstances under which we meet. You have suffered a terrible accident and will no doubt live with its sequelae for the rest of your life.
“However,” he continued. “There has been no evidence presented here which gives me reason to believe it was anything other than a tragic accident. There is no proof of any negligent behaviour on the part of Mr. Buchanan, nor any of his employees or associates. Never having been a teenaged girl myself, I cannot comprehend what drove you, Ms. Alexander, to behave the way you did that evening. It seems a miracle that you are here today, walking and talking. Of course, I would encourage the exercise of extreme caution when driving a motor vehicle through a crowd of people, regardless of any other circumstances, an admonition which I suspect is unnecessary in this case, as the driver has shown suitable remorse.
“My question for you and your legal advisors, Ms. Alexander, is how this suit actually made it to a courtroom. There has been nothing sworn here today which indicates that Mr. Buchanan acted in any way inappropriately. For this reason, I must find for the defendant. I would have expected, perhaps, that the driver might be named; the fact that only Mr. Buchanan was named in this suit indicates to me that this was merely an attempt to capitalize on Mr. Buchanan’s fame. Worse, it was a cash grab. For this reason, I am ordering the plaintiff to pay court costs. This matter is adjourned.”
The judge banged his gavel and rose from the table. The room erupted into animated conversation, and Emily ducked quickly out the back door, into the anonymity of the crowd.
posted by Cluttered Mind | 8:16 PM
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