Double Jeopardy by William Bernhardt Read Free Book Online

wanted another go at them, but the way he felt right now, the result would probably be much the same. Or worse.
    Travis silently cursed himself. The fact of the matter was they got the drop on him. It was humiliating. He was only thirty-six, for God’s sake. He’d been trained to protect himself and to subdue assailants. But in the bathroom, he’d been a human punching bag. Sure, they caught him off guard, but there was more to it than that. Somewhere in the course of quitting the force, going to law school, and burying himself in the books—he’d gone soft. He’d forgotten how to fight with, anything other than his mouth.
    Speaking of which …
    “Mr. Byrne, I repeat—do you have any questions for the jury?”
    He looked up at the bench. Hagedorn was staring at him impatiently. Cavanaugh must’ve finished while he was grumbling to himself. Hope she didn’t say anything too objectionable.
    “Yes, your honor.” Travis rose to his feet. “I have several questions.”
    “Please limit yourself to thirty minutes,” Hagedorn said crisply.
    “Thirty minutes!” Travis approached the bench. Cavanaugh followed close behind. “Your honor, counsel for the prosecution has questioned the jury panel for over five hours!”
    “That’s just the point,” Hagedorn said. “She’s surely explored every area of potential prejudice by now. I don’t think it’s necessary for you to rehash the same material.”
    “Judge, I can assure you I won’t be repetitious—”
    “I can assure myself of that, counsel. Your thirty minutes begin now.”
    “Your honor, this is grossly prejudicial. The court can’t—” He froze, immediately realizing his mistake. Never tell a judge what he can’t do. Never.
    Hagedorn’s face grew stern. “This court has the inherent power to set guidelines for the conduct of trials, as you well know.”
    “But, Judge, if the prosecution talks for five hours, and I only talk for half an hour, the impression left with the jury will be that the prosecution has the better case.”
    “This is not an evidentiary stage of the trial, counsel. This is merely voir dire.”
    “Sure, that’s what the textbooks say. But as a practical matter—”
    “Twenty-nine minutes, counsel. And counting.”
    Travis pushed away from the bench. What was going on here? Since when did the Honorable Charles E. Hagedorn engage in this kind of blatant favoritism? He glanced at Cavanaugh, but she looked away. No appeal to that quarter. She might not agree with the ruling, but she was smart enough to take a break when she got it.
    Travis calmly approached the jury, trying to act as if nothing unfavorable had occurred. The jury couldn’t hear what went on at the bench, but they could usually figure out who the judge liked and who he didn’t. Travis couldn’t let that happen here; he had too many strikes against him as it was.
    He smiled pleasantly. “Ladies and gentlemen, how many of you are familiar with the phrase presumed innocent ?”
    After Travis finished questioning the jury (just under the thirty-minute deadline), Hagedorn took the lawyers into chambers and they eliminated jurors that either side thought could harm their case. Unfortunately, Travis suspected that any juror with common sense and good taste was detrimental to his case, but that was hardly a basis for dismissal.
    Afterward Hagedorn called a recess for the day. Thank God. Travis’s head was throbbing and his nausea had never subsided. He made a beeline for the back of the courtroom.
    Dan Holyfield stopped him at the door.
    “Dan!” Travis said, surprised. “What brings you to the courtroom? Couldn’t resist my offer to second-chair?”
    Dan didn’t smile. “I came over because—” He stopped and stared at Travis’s face. “My God, what happened?”
    Travis touched his bandaged nose—still sore as hell. “A little accident in the bathroom.”
    “You’re getting dark circles under both eyes. Your nose may be broken.”
    “Damn. I hope