The Trial – Part 8
To Catch A Cop – Part 3
Chapter 14
Judge: "Detective Michaels you are still under oath."
Detective Michaels: "Yes your honor."
Ron: "Detective Michaels when you first found the gun which is now exhibit A, were there any fingerprints on it?"
Detective Michaels: "We had to send it to forensics first, I can't just look at a gun and see prints on them."
Ron: "And were there any fingerprints on the gun when youfirstfound the gun?"
Detective Michaels: "Well Mr. Townes you have the report, they found the defendant's fingerprints all over the gun."
Ron: "Yes, fingerprints that were found when you asked forensics to recheck the gun after you arrested and booked Ms. Carlin. Isn't that correct?"
Detective Michaels: "I don't know… I don't understand the question."
Ron: "This is not the original report when the gun was first examined. The original report indicated that no prints was found on the gun. When Ms. Carlin was arrested and HER fingerprints were taken after being booked, that's when we got the report that her prints were all over the gun. Why is that Detective Michaels?"
Detective Michaels: "That is the original report there is no other report."
Ron: "Okay let me go with a different line of questioning, we'll get back to the forensics report. Detective did you interview anyone else regarding Dexter Hall's murder?"
Detective Michaels: "Yes we did."
Ron: "Who else did you interview?"
Detective Michaels: "We interviewed Mr. Carlin her father, Glen Carlin her brother who was also Mr. Hall's divorce attorney, Mrs. Bailey, the housekeeper."
Ron: "Anyone else?"
Detective Michaels: "Mrs. Pointer and Ms. Spears."
Ron: "Now, Mrs. Pointer and Ms. Spears were not on your list of suspects. They voluntarily came in to give information, correct?"
Detective Michaels: "Well… yeah."
Ron: "So how many suspects were on your list?"
Detective Michaels: "We had about fifteen to start with."
Ron: "But you only questioned four, why is that detective?"
Detective Michaels: "Because all of the evidence pointed to Ms. Carlin and I felt we would be wasting our time interviewing other people who didn't have a motive to kill Mr. Hall."
Ron: "But how would you know when you didn't interview anyone else?"
Detective Michaels: "I just knew, I felt it in my guts. I've been a cop for twenty years you can kind of tell who the guilty ones are right away."
Ron: "Oh so you thought Ms. Carlin was guilty and that's why you hastened your arrest of her?"
Detective Michaels: "Yes."
Ron: "The kind of life Mr. Hall had been living since he came into all his monies and the kind of people he was associating with were questionable, yet you felt there was no need to interview any other people, because in your gut you felt Ms. Carlin killed her ex-husband?"
Detective Michaels: "That's correct."
Ron: "You honor, with the courts permission I would like to interrupt my cross examination of this witness and call Dr. Hamilton, forensics expert for the New York police department."
Judge: "Permission granted. Step down Detective Michaels. You are not to leave the courtroom until your questioning by the defense is complete."
Detective Michaels: "Yes, your honor."
Judge: "Call your next witness Mr. Townes."
Ron: "The defense calls forensics expert Dr. Mark Hamilton to the stand."
Bailiff: "Dr. Hamilton to the stand."
Ron: "Please state your name and occupation for the court."
Dr. Hamilton: "Dr. Mark Hamilton, forensics expert for the New York police department."
Ron: "Dr. Hamilton, when you first received the murder weapon and ran your test, did you find any prints?"
Dr. Hamilton: "No, we did not."
Ron: "Then after a couple of days, Detective Michaels asks you to run tests for fingerprints again?"
Dr. Hamilton: "Yes."
Ron: "What did you find?"
Dr. Hamilton: "We found the fingerprints of Ms. Carlin all over the gun, but there was something strange about the fingerprints."
Ron: "What did you find strange Dr. Hamilton?"
Dr. Hamilton: "Fingerprints were found on the handle and the barrel of the gun, the prints were so obviously there, we would not have missed that the first time. The other strange thing was there were no fingerprints on the trigger. How can you have fingerprints on the handle and the barrel, but not the trigger?"
Ron: "Did you have a report stating that no fingerprints were found on the gun the first time you ran tests?"
Dr. Hamilton: "Yes."
Ron: "Well, where is that report?"
Dr. Hamilton: "We don't know, it disappeared, it's like it never existed. So, when Detective Michaels asked us to retest for fingerprints, we did since we seemingly lost the first report. We figured it would just be a duplicate report but on retesting, we found the fingerprints of Ms. Carlin on the gun.
Ron: "Dr. Hamilton can you run a test to determine if those fingerprints were placed on the gun by any other means other then by handling the gun itself?"
Dr. Hamilton: "Sometimes we can it depends on how well the prints were placed on the evidence, we're running tests on the fingerprints as we speak.
Ron: "No further questions."
Judge: "Ms. Woods, do you have question for this witness?"
Kyla: "No questions your honor."
Judge: "Mr. Townes, call your next witness."
Ron: "The defense recalls Detective Michaels."
Judge: "Detective Michaels may I remind you that you are still under oath."
Ron: "Detective Michaels, you just heard the testimony of Dr. Hamilton with the forensics department regarding the fingerprints on the gun?"
Detective Michaels: "Yes."
Ron: "Well how did those prints get on the gun?"
Detective Michaels: "I… the forensics department was probably overwhelmed with work and just missed the fingerprints. That's why I asked them to redo the test. I was certain there should have been prints on the weapon."
Ron: "But you had the gun for several days. Why did you asked them to redo the test after you arrested and fingerprinted Ms. Carlin?"
Detective Michaels: "I felt it was a good time to ask them to look again for fingerprints to compare hers to those on the gun."
Ron: "Detective Michaels did you place those fingerprints on the murder weapon?"
Detective Michaels: "NO! Of course not, don't be ridiculous."
Ron: "Your honor the defense would like to place into evidence the testimony transcripts of Detective Janice Morgan that was taken at her hospital bed yesterday afternoon with myself, co-counsel Glen Carlin, Judge Campbell, Prosecutor Woods and court reporter Angie Wilson. Detective Michaels do you know Detective Morgan?"
Detective Michaels: "Yes, she's my partner."
Ron: "How long have you two been partners?"
Detective Michaels: "Two years."
Ron: "I'm going to read to you Detective Michaels, Detective Morgan's testimony concerning the handling of Dexter Hall's murder case, with the courts permission."
The judge addresses the jury as to why transcripts are being read to them instead of having Detective Morgan on the witness stand.
Judge: "Detective Morgan was critically wounded two nights ago, but still wanted to give testimony regarding this case. I will give you instructions at the end of this trial on how to handle that testimony. Permission granted Mr. Townes, please continue."
Detective Michaels is still on the witness stand while Ron prepares to read the transcript of Detective Morgan to the jury. Meanwhile Captain Smith enters the courtroom with several police officers strategically placing them at the entrance and exit doors of the courtroom. Detective Michaels was becoming very uncomfortable with his current situation.
The inconspicuous woman in the back of the courtroom knew she was not going to like what Spencer's attorney was about to read to the jury. "Damn! I knew Detective Michaels trying to kill his partner was going to mess this up." "Shit!"
Ron: "This is the testimony of Detective Janice Morgan of the New York police department. I am going to read the transcript that the court reporter recorded during her testimony word for word."