( ARC ) LIKE FATHER LIKE DAUGHTER
opening statements
A DEEP BREATH CAME THROUGH HER MOUTH as she entered the room. Seeing people pile in and watching Jessica get on the stand was surreal. This was as close to being in the court room as Sally had been able to get, thus far. And the other partners – all walking in with the same high heads and confident spring in their step. As if everything wasn’t stressful enough. Did this count as stage fright?
Sally blocked other thoughts out of her mind; her father being in town; Harvey was going to sit at the opposing council’s table. No. This was just about her. She looked over at Mike, her client in this, giving him a solid nod. She had this. She did. She had to have this.
Then, when Harvey made his way, Sally just looked at him. No emotion, which was rare for Sally, crossed her face. She just wanted him to know that she was there. She knew she couldn’t intimidate the man, but then again, that wasn’t the point. He had made it clear ( though she still wasn’t sure why exactly he did this ) that he wanted to see her at the top of her game. And she was going to be. If it killed her.
And with everything going on, it just might.
With her turn first to state her opener, Sally stood up tall and nodded toward Jessica, than to the partners. “Good morning, your honor.” She walked toward the front of her desk. “The reason we are here this morning is to prove the cause behind Ms. Jackson’s untimely death on November 22nd. Milan Jackson, in an attempt to please and to fit into the Phi Gamma coed fraternity, walked onto a ledge to show herself and fell.”
Her hands clasped together, her form remained steady as she spoke. “And my client is being blamed of murder. We will provide evidence that the death of Ms. Jackson was not a murder at all, but a mere accident caused by the victim herself.
“Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury; your honor, my client is not a murderer.”
Truth be told he didn’t take on the role as opposing counsel because he wanted an easy win (in fact he never liked “easy” wins; what was the point of it? A waste of time). He didn’t take it because he had nothing better to do (in fact his plate had been as full as it usually was). Nor did he take it to publicly eviscerate her (again, there was no reason for it). He took it– as he explained to Sally once– she had potential, and in order to see her fullest potential, you had to throw her immediately to the wolves and see if she’d leave leading the pack. Only way to do that is by getting one of the best attorneys across the aisle from her. In a slick three-piece he was pretty much ready.
Harvey walked in with this papers in hand, confident stride like the rest of the partners with his usual swagger bleeding into every motion he made. This was the Harvey that made his way into a courtroom, ready to attack and shred and win. It was a psychological game to loved to play, and it was only half the battle. With an “All rise” as Jessica approached the makeshift stand and listened to Sally’s statement. He refrained from making any faces just yet– just until she finished.
And now it was his turn. No holding back.
“Then we should uplift all the bullying and hazing laws currently in place across the country with that logic, Your Honor.” His tone was heavily disingenuous, as if you could hear his eyes rolling. “Ms. Carrera even states that it was an attempt to be a part of a group… and she wouldn’t have needed to feel that way unless she was hazed. That’s just how these things work. That’s why there are laws in place.” His hands slipped into his pockets then, pose relaxed. “And when these laws are broken, punitive action must be taken as I’m sure you’re aware of, Your Honor, for the safety of the people.” The elder lawyer’s head turned to face her lazily, shaking his head in a mocking way. “Not to mention victim-blaming. That’s poor taste, Carrera.”
“We ask the members of the court to find her client guilty of the charges already presented.” And with that he finished his piece. Harvey usually did a big song and dance, but this didn’t require it just yet. If anything the show was his tone and the subtle actions he took; his posture and his quick glance at Sally. While she refrained from showing emotion, Harvey was very willing to throw up whatever duplicitous expression he needed in order to get the job done. He’d said his piece, and he took a seat.
Jessica approached the stand with the unadulterated air of regality. She held in a breath, glancing at the consortium of partners to her right, then at Harvey, then at Sally, before taking a seat. The air was steeped in tension; frigid, because Jessica had no intention of tolerating slack and neither were the partners, and they were all in agreement that the case presented would be difficult to try. It would be rocky, but Jessica’s steely irises indicated that this would be a learning experience for all of them.
With the exception of Mike g o d d a m n Ross. He wasn’t a real lawyer.
“You may proceed with Opening Statements.” She declared, the ‘clang’ of the gavel resonating throughout the room. Sally began, and Jessica examined her posture, her tone, her words; searching for the potential that Harvey claimed she had, looking for a glimmer of something capable of beating even her. If she saw it, her face belied nothing. Jessica remained neutral, her face nothing but a calm, focused, calculating pomade..
Harvey concluded, bounding toward the atrium between the counsel benches and the judge’s stand, and immediately began to pommel opposing counsel’s statement. She held back a smile. In the ring, she taught him never to wait before knocking your opponent off his feet. Muhammad Ali had Frazier down in the first thirty-seconds of the first round. Ali exploited the weaknesses in Frazier’s form before the match even began. Ali won the match because Frazier never knew what hit him, and Ali won every knife fight since. It made Jessica proud to see Harvey as sharp as ever, but for once she wondered if young Sally was good enough to beat an old champion.
Jessica parted a glance toward the partners when Harvey took his seat. It was as silent as a pasture, but Jessica discerned that the partners believed the same as she had; this was a tough case to try, and from where they stood, it was anyone’s game.
And when she addressed the court, the game would proceed.
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