King Arthur's Honor-Original Writing
Crossing to the center of the courtroom, Arthur took a deep breath.
“May it please the Court, Your Honor.” Arthur acknowledged Judge Valdis with a nod. “Good morning…”
Arthur had every word of the five-minute long opening memorized, and he delivered his statement with passion, but not aggression. During his years of arguing cases, he had learned the idiom that you attract more bees with honey was true. Cultivating the jury’s compassion, which began with the very first words of the opening remarks, was paramount.
Thanks to hours and hours of practice, the words flowed with ease. The jury was attentive, some nodded their heads in understanding, and some of the women teared up.
Arthur’s eyes drifted to the wall clock. He was closing in …show more content…
on five minutes and the end of his statement. Time to deliver the final words.
“I’d like each of you to think about what it would mean to lose a child. The devastation that would shatter your inner peace and change you profoundly and permanently in the most excruciating ways. It is not something from which you would ever recover. You would carry that agony with you in your heart for all your days.”
He took a long pause, allowing the words to sink in. “Now, imagine corporate greed caused that loss. Your child’s death was avoidable. It didn’t need to happen.
“Picture it, if you will, wandering through life, knowing the negligence and obfuscation perpetuated by highly compensated executives bought about your precious child’s death. As these men who sit in this courtroom plan their next trip to Tahiti, your child will never feel the warmth of the sun on her face again. There will be no more family vacations, no birthday parties, no first day of school pictures. These men have robbed you of that and so much more.
“If this happened to you, wouldn’t you want them held responsible for their callous disregard of human life?”
Arthur allowed those words to hang in the air before taking his seat. Day one was off to an auspicious start.
XXXX
After meeting with the plaintiffs in the courtroom hallway, Arthur and Elena walked to the parking lot together on the mild autumn evening. Once they were well out of view, they high-fived one another.
“Not to be cocky, but that went really well,” Elena said as they reached their cars. “Their defense seemed shaky, and what the hell are they thinking by putting the executives on the stand? You’ll eviscerate them.”
“It was a good day, that’s for sure.
I can see this being wrapped up by next week. It’s moving along nicely.” Before opening his door, Arthur said, “Hey, Elena? We wouldn’t be doing as well if it wasn’t for your attention to detail and organization. It’s made all the difference. Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night? My roommate cooks a ‘friends dinner’ at least once a week.” He hoped she wouldn’t read his invitation wrong; he liked Elena as a friend and wanted to explore that friendship.
Elena sorted. “Don’t look so panicked, Arthur. I promise not to bed over your dining table, lift my skirt, and ask you to do me.”
Unsure of how to respond, he stared at her wide eyed, and she laughed.
“I’d love a home-cooked dinner. Besides, I have my eye on someone else now. They were this gorgeous guy at my yoga class. I mean, chiseled perfection, sexy and flexible as hell… You probably don’t want to hear about that.”
“Yeah, not really,” he said with a chuckle.
Elena slid into her car. “See you bright and early tomorrow, then dinner later. Have a good night.”
She drove like a bit of a maniac, and Arthur cringed when she sped out of her parking space and nearly rammed into the car behind her. Elena shrugged, mouthed “Oops,” then put the pedal to the metal and zipped
off.
Elena never failed to make him laugh, except that one time when she flung herself at him. Arthur appreciated her quirkiness and zeal for life. He wished he could force himself to feel something for her, other than physical attraction—because he was still a red-blooded male—but he couldn’t.
Traffic was outrageous at this hour, so Arthur had plenty of time to think as he headed for home. He had to fight the instinct to call Gwen. Every fiber of his being wanted to share with her how things had gone today. At a stop light, he had to sit on his hands so he didn’t make the mistake of calling her, because he had lost the right to do so. But when he arrived home, he’d pen his weekly letter to her, one he’d send but she wouldn’t read. Gwen hadn’t responded to any of his other letters.
If he won the case, and for the sake of the families, he sure as hell hoped he would, the victory would be a little meaningful without Gwen there to appreciate it. He wondered if her hold on his heart would ever cease.
“May it please the Court, Your Honor.” Arthur acknowledged Judge Valdis with a nod. “Good morning…”
Arthur had every word of the five-minute long opening memorized, and he delivered his statement with passion, but not aggression. During his years of arguing cases, he had learned the idiom that you attract more bees with honey was true. Cultivating the jury’s compassion, which began with the very first words of the opening remarks, was paramount.
Thanks to hours and hours of practice, the words flowed with ease. The jury was attentive, some nodded their heads in understanding, and some of the women teared up.
Arthur’s eyes drifted to the wall clock. He was closing in …show more content…
on five minutes and the end of his statement. Time to deliver the final words.
“I’d like each of you to think about what it would mean to lose a child. The devastation that would shatter your inner peace and change you profoundly and permanently in the most excruciating ways. It is not something from which you would ever recover. You would carry that agony with you in your heart for all your days.”
He took a long pause, allowing the words to sink in. “Now, imagine corporate greed caused that loss. Your child’s death was avoidable. It didn’t need to happen.
“Picture it, if you will, wandering through life, knowing the negligence and obfuscation perpetuated by highly compensated executives bought about your precious child’s death. As these men who sit in this courtroom plan their next trip to Tahiti, your child will never feel the warmth of the sun on her face again. There will be no more family vacations, no birthday parties, no first day of school pictures. These men have robbed you of that and so much more.
“If this happened to you, wouldn’t you want them held responsible for their callous disregard of human life?”
Arthur allowed those words to hang in the air before taking his seat. Day one was off to an auspicious start.
XXXX
After meeting with the plaintiffs in the courtroom hallway, Arthur and Elena walked to the parking lot together on the mild autumn evening. Once they were well out of view, they high-fived one another.
“Not to be cocky, but that went really well,” Elena said as they reached their cars. “Their defense seemed shaky, and what the hell are they thinking by putting the executives on the stand? You’ll eviscerate them.”
“It was a good day, that’s for sure.
I can see this being wrapped up by next week. It’s moving along nicely.” Before opening his door, Arthur said, “Hey, Elena? We wouldn’t be doing as well if it wasn’t for your attention to detail and organization. It’s made all the difference. Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night? My roommate cooks a ‘friends dinner’ at least once a week.” He hoped she wouldn’t read his invitation wrong; he liked Elena as a friend and wanted to explore that friendship.
Elena sorted. “Don’t look so panicked, Arthur. I promise not to bed over your dining table, lift my skirt, and ask you to do me.”
Unsure of how to respond, he stared at her wide eyed, and she laughed.
“I’d love a home-cooked dinner. Besides, I have my eye on someone else now. They were this gorgeous guy at my yoga class. I mean, chiseled perfection, sexy and flexible as hell… You probably don’t want to hear about that.”
“Yeah, not really,” he said with a chuckle.
Elena slid into her car. “See you bright and early tomorrow, then dinner later. Have a good night.”
She drove like a bit of a maniac, and Arthur cringed when she sped out of her parking space and nearly rammed into the car behind her. Elena shrugged, mouthed “Oops,” then put the pedal to the metal and zipped
off.
Elena never failed to make him laugh, except that one time when she flung herself at him. Arthur appreciated her quirkiness and zeal for life. He wished he could force himself to feel something for her, other than physical attraction—because he was still a red-blooded male—but he couldn’t.
Traffic was outrageous at this hour, so Arthur had plenty of time to think as he headed for home. He had to fight the instinct to call Gwen. Every fiber of his being wanted to share with her how things had gone today. At a stop light, he had to sit on his hands so he didn’t make the mistake of calling her, because he had lost the right to do so. But when he arrived home, he’d pen his weekly letter to her, one he’d send but she wouldn’t read. Gwen hadn’t responded to any of his other letters.
If he won the case, and for the sake of the families, he sure as hell hoped he would, the victory would be a little meaningful without Gwen there to appreciate it. He wondered if her hold on his heart would ever cease.