A.N. Thank goodness for three day weekends! Sorry for the clichéd cliffhanger. Sometimes I even annoy myself! I debated leaving you with the verdict, but the cliché won. We're almost done. Only an epilogue left after this.
Thanks so much for all the feedback, encouragement, and threats of bodily harm over the cliffhanger (kidding!). I really do love hearing from you, and am thrilled to know you've enjoyed the story.
Consequences
Chapter 38
Rossi and JJ stood by the window, looking out and pretending to be calm. They'd been able to hear the murmur of conversation in the courtroom settle down as the judge entered and gaveled them into session. JJ had tried to listen through the space where the large oak doors came together, but was shooed away by a bailiff. About ten minutes into the session, there was again a sound of gallery discussion coming from inside the chamber.
A moment later, a journalist burst from the courtroom to phone in the verdict. "Guilty!"
When she heard that, JJ's hands went to her mouth, a look of horror frozen on her face. Rossi reached out for her, seeing she was unsteady. The blood seemed to have drained from her complexion.
Inside the courtroom, Reid tried to process the words he'd just heard. He'd been barely standing, held up by Hotch, as the foreman read the verdict.
"As to the charge of criminally negligent manslaughter, we find the defendant, Spencer Reid, guilty."
Reid sagged against Hotch's grasp, his vision closing in on him, going dark. No matter how much he'd tried to prepare himself, hearing it proclaimed was more devastating than he could have imagined.
In the gallery, Garcia's face ran with tears as she held on to Morgan's arm with both hands. It was the only thing keeping him in his seat. He shot visual bullets at both Donner and the jury.
Emily had gone completely still. No more tapping of her foot, no more biting her nails. She was held in place by a crushing guilt. The events she'd set in motion were now exacting a price from her dear friend.
From the bench, Judge Ford could see that Reid was about to collapse, and signaled Hotch and Katie that their client could sit. The two attorneys exchanged a look, silently coming to consensus on their next strategy. What to do in the event of a 'guilty' verdict had been the subject of much discussion in the past thirty six hours. And it had become an increasingly difficult decision to make after some new information came to them.
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"Well, we can obviously appeal it. And they might even let him stay free pending the appeal. He's certainly not a flight risk or a threat to society."
"Any other case I'd agree with you, Katie. But the people who forced this case forward have a lot to lose if it falls out of the public eye without exacting some sort of punishment. They'll do everything they can to keep him locked up, and then do everything they can to postpone the next hearing. No, I don't think we can ask Reid to go through that. I don't think he could go through it. This has been hard enough."
"Even so, do you think we have enough for an appeal?"
"It's hard to say. Judge Ford has been pretty even handed with this. He won't have left us much in the way of procedural grounds. We'd need something else. New evidence, something."
The 'something' came their way unexpectedly. Katie received what the caller obviously intended to be an anonymous voice mail indicating that one or more of the jurors had been approached by someone, for the purpose of influencing their decision. Hotch quietly brought Garcia into the picture. Wielding her magic, she was able to trace the call to a cell phone belonging to an employee of 'The Helen Faith Show'. An apparently disgruntled employee.
They could only assume Helen Faith was trying to protect her public image by having Reid found guilty. It would support her nightly attempts to vilify him, and divert some of the negative attention she'd gotten from the tampered video recordings. But they needed more than an anonymous phone message. And they would need a more 'legal' investigatory technique than Garcia's under-the-table work.
But there was another issue with this route. The best they could achieve with it would be a mistrial. All of the work, the angst, the disruption of their lives….all of it would have to be repeated. Neither attorney thought their client would be able to withstand it. Katie was one hundred percent certain that Reid would plead out if faced with a mistrial and re-trial, and Hotch agreed with her.
"But it might be worth pursuing if Donner might decline to retry him, Aaron. What do you think? Would he go for it, or would he decide enough damage has been done?"
"I don't think he's actually making the decisions, Katie. And I don't know how those pulling the strings are thinking about this now. They've got their own images to protect, so they may still want to save face by prosecuting. But...," He was remembering the conference call among the FBI office directors, "there's some discord up the line. I think more of the hierarchy are aware of this now, and not particularly supportive. It could work in Reid's favor."
There was yet another option, but neither of them had ever seen it come to fruition in a courtroom. Laying out all of the choices before them, they realized that any direction they took was a gamble. And the stakes were a young man's life.
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Reid fell back into his seat, the blood pounding in his ears. He couldn't hear anything else. Couldn't hear Hotch whisper that it wasn't over yet. Couldn't even hear Katie when she stood and requested that the judge poll the jury.
Judge Ford ran through all twelve members, asking if they had been in agreement with the final verdict, and whether they'd voted freely. Each said 'yes', but the profiler in Hotch thought he could pick out two who hesitated just a nanosecond longer than the others. And two more whose facial expressions belied their words. They just went along to get along. He also watched Judge Ford carefully, trying to read his microexpressions. It would help him decide which strategy to pursue.
As the polling concluded, Katie turned to him. Which? The appeal, the mistrial? Without substantiating information, not yet available, the mistrial was the bigger gamble. As Katie looked to him, Hotch shook his head. Neither. He'd seen something in Judge Ford.
Katie raised her brows in a 'are you sure about this' gesture. Hotch nodded. With a shrug, Katie stood.
"Your Honor, the defense requests that you vacate the verdict, citing 'judgment as a matter of law'." JMOL. It was what she'd requested at the close of the prosecution's case. Had she not done so, it might very well not have been accepted now. She was asking the judge to overrule the decision of the jury.
Judge Ford prided himself on being well-prepared for the courtroom. He'd already considered all possible outcomes to the trial, and all possible moves by the defense in the event of a guilty verdict. He was ready for Katie.
"Ms. Kelly, what you are requesting is a rarely used…and, I might add, rarely successful….motion that calls for the presiding judge to overrule the decision reached by the jury. Our judicial system is built with the intention of fairness, giving adequate voice to both sides in every trial, and asking our fellow citizens to come to a consensus on the right answer. It is not something to be disposed of lightly, and I do not do so here. "
Donner had tensed when Katie made her motion, but now sat back in his chair. It seemed the judge was simply taking this opportunity to educate his courtroom.
At the defense table, both Hotch and Katie were leaning forward intently. The judge hadn't rejected the motion outright. Hotch still had his hand on Reid, who was now trembling more violently.
"I do take pride in our judicial system. But I also take pride in my courtroom, and my ability to see to it that everyone who stands before me receives a fair trial."
The judge swiveled in his chair, to face the jury.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your service to this court. It is my hope that you did all you could to reach a fair verdict. Just as it was my hope that you followed my instructions to refrain from any discussion outside this courtroom or the deliberation room. And just as it was my hope that you would avoid any news coverage of the trial or anything related to it."
After he said these words, the judge studied the jury for a few seconds, and wasn't surprised to see some of the jurors avert their gaze from him.
"But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am also a realist. I know it is virtually impossible to be completely insulated from media coverage of anything. And I believe that you may have been influenced by such media exposure, whether advertent or inadvertent."
Finished with chiding the jury, he swiveled back to look at the rest of the court.
"To make a ruling of 'judgment as a matter of law' in this case requires me to decide that the prosecution has not presented a convincing case. In this instance, it would have to mean that I believe the prosecution has not proven Dr. Reid's actions to have been reckless, or out of alignment with what any reasonable person would have done."
In an anticlimactic finish, he simply stated, "I do so rule."
Everyone in the courtroom was caught off guard, save Reid, who hadn't heard a word the judge had spoken. Katie and Hotch looked at each other, almost incredulous. It had been the biggest of their possible gambles. Had it paid off?
There was murmuring throughout the room. No one was quite sure what had just happened. Outside, Rossi was comforting JJ, whose initial shock had dissolved into a steady flow of tears. They could only tell that the court had gone silent again after the initial reading of the verdict, and now there was more noise.
Judge Ford struck his gavel to silence the room.
"Dr. Reid, your verdict is hereby expunged. You are officially acquitted of all charges. You are free to go."
With that, the judge struck his gavel one final time, calling the trial to a close.
The courtroom erupted. Except for the prosecution and defense tables. Donner sat, looking stunned. But, noted Hotch, not particularly unhappy.
At the defense table, Reid sat still, not having absorbed anything of the past ten minutes. His mind had focused only on the verdict, and his brain was now racing with images of him in a cell, or a prison yard. He was waiting to be brought from the courtroom.
"Reid! Reid!" He finally realized that Hotch was literally shouting his name from the seat next to him, trying to break through. Reid turned confused eyes to his superior.
Hotch could see that Reid hadn't understood anything. He grabbed the younger man by both shoulders. "It's over. You're free. The judge overturned the verdict. You're free, Reid."
Reid squinted his lack of comprehension. It took a few seconds, but finally Hotch's words penetrated.
"Free? I'm free? I'm not going to prison? It's over?"
He'd never seen Hotch with such a wide grin. "Yes," his boss nodded, "it's over, and you're free."
Hotch knew he'd gotten the message across when he saw the tears come to Reid's eyes. The young genius stood up then, and started looking around. "Where's JJ? I need JJ!"
Instead, he got Katie. She wrapped him up in her arms and squeezed. "You're free, Reid! We did it!"
He hugged her back. "Katie, I have no words. No words. Except, 'thank you'."
"You are so very welcome, Reid." Katie made her way past her client and embraced her fellow counsel. "We make a good team, Aaron. Don't we?"
He smiled at her. "Always did."
By now, word had reached outside the courtroom that something unique had happened. JJ still didn't understand what it was, and wanted to respect Reid's wishes that she not be present. But it was killing her. Until Garcia burst through the doors.
"JJ, he's asking for you! Come on, he wants you!"
"Is he okay? Are they taking him?" JJ had already started making her way through the crowd.
"Taking…. Oh, my girl, you don't know! He's innocent! The judge acquitted him! The jury got it wrong, and the judge turned it around!"
"Innocent? But we heard they said he was guilty!" JJ didn't know how to process this.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. The jury got it wrong. The judge said so. He's free, JJ. Free!"
That brought a fresh rain of tears. "He's free? He's free!" And she started pushing through the crowd with renewed vigor.
Morgan and Prentiss were with Reid, Emily shedding her own tears of relief. Morgan was slapping Reid on the back, almost knocking him over in his uninhibited celebration. Both of them noticed when Reid's eyes became focused on the back of the courtroom. He'd spotted JJ.
The team surrounding Reid parted to let her through. She stopped just short of his arms, and stood looking at him.
"Free?" Came out in a small voice, partly choked by her tears.
He was having trouble with his own voice. He nodded. "Free."
She walked into his embrace and the two held each other for a long time.
Donner caught the scene and cast an approving look in their direction. He went to Katie and Hotch with an outstretched hand. "Well done, and congratulations. I don't think I've ever had a case I wanted less to prosecute. I know he won't understand it, but I hope you will."
"I do, Jim. And I'm sorry you were put in this situation. That all of us were put in this situation." Hotch still had respect for his legal colleague.
"Amen to that. Best wishes to them. I won't interrupt." Donner nodded his head toward where the couple were still wrapped up in each other.
As the courtroom emptied, and the noise subsided, JJ pulled back, still holding on to Reid's hands.
He smiled at her, feeling recovered now that he'd held her again. Last night hadn't been the last night. There would be today, and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow….
"Let's go home, Spence."
Going home. Coming home. They'd talked about it so much during the trial. It had become the marker of his life before, and after. JJ had so often tried to cheer him with, 'when it's over, you'll come home, with us.' With the woman he loved and the little boy who'd captured his heart. Henry! I get to grow up with you after all! The starting of a new life.
Reid realized that, over the past few days, he'd lost sight of 'home'. He didn't really know where it was, or how to get there. He'd bid goodbye to everything, already left it behind.
But then he looked around him, at his team. Each of them had done all they could to make this happen. Not the least Katie, who would forever, in Reid's eyes, be an honorary member of the team. Their love, and friendship, and support had gotten him through this most unforeseen ordeal.
Surrounded by them, seeing the genuine joy in his good fortune, he knew. Taking JJ back into his arms, and holding Henry in his heart, Reid put it into words.
"I am home."