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"Are the People ready to call their first witness?" asked Judge McKenna.
"Yes, Your Honor," said Cutter. "The People call Chris Webb."
Webb was a short man in his late thirties who looked as if he hadn't had enough sleep in a long time. His shoulders were slumped as he walked down the hall to the witness stand. He did not look at Abbie.
"Please state and spell your full name," said Michael Cutter.
"Chris Webb, C-H-R-I-S W-E-B-B." His voice was emotionless with fatigue.
"And what is your occupation, Mr. Webb?"
"I'm an appellate attorney."
"Did you know Matt Bergstrom?"
"Yes, I represented him on his appeal.
"Did he ever mention Abbie Carmichael to you?" Cutter asked.
"Objection!" Jack jumped to his feet. "Anything Matt Bergstrom told his attorney is privileged."
"He's dead and Mr. McCoy is in no position to assert that privilege."
"Mr. Cutter is in no position to waive it," retorted Jack.
"I talked to his legal heir, who agreed to waive attorney-client privilege with Mr. Webb," Cutter told the judge.
"Overruled," Judge McKenna decided finally.
"Did Matt Bergstrom ever mention Abbie Carmichael to you?" Cutter asked Webb again.
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"Objection!" Jack shouted, jumping to his feet. "Hearsay!"
"Your Honor, the statement was made as part of Mr. Bergstrom's appeal and falls under an exception to hearsay."
"Overruled. Mr. Webb, you may answer the question."
"He said that she coerced him into confessing."
"How did she do that?"
"He said she told him he'd be extradited to Texas to face the death penalty if he didn't confess."
Cutter held up a piece of paper. "Your honor, may this letter be marked as prosecution's exhibit 1?"
"So ordered," agreed the judge.
The clerk marked the exhibit into evidence, then Cutter showed it to Jack. Abbie saw it was the letter purportedly requesting Bergstrom's extradition she had written eight years ago.
"May the record reflect I am showing the exhibit to counsel."
"No objection," said Jack.
"Your Honor, may I approach the witness?" requested Cutter. The judge agreed. And Cutter brought the letter over to the witness stand.
"Mr. Webb, do you recognize this?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"It's a letter, printed on Texas letterhead, requesting that Matt Bergstrom be extradited to Texas to face capital charges."
"Where did you get it?"
"I subpoenaed it from the New York district attorney's office five years ago, for use in Mr. Bergstrom's appeal."
"What did Mr. Bergstrom tell you about this letter?"
"Objection, hearsay!" protested Jack,
"Overruled."
"That he'd pleaded guilty because he didn't want to face the death penalty in Texas, and he believed he would have because of that letter."
"So he pleaded guilty because of that letter?"
"Yes."
"Do you know where the letter came from?"
"It came from the district attorney's office."
"In Texas?"
"No, in New York."
"Even though it's on Texas letterhead?"
"Yes. Ms. Carmichael had some left over from when she worked in Texas."
"Mr. Webb, do you know who wrote the letter?"
"Yes. The defendant, Abbie Carmichael."
"How do you know?"
"In doing research for Mr. Bergstrom's appeal, I found out that the letter wasn't really from Texas, and eventually that Ms. Carmichael wrote it."
"Mr. Webb, did Mr. Bergstrom tell you anything else about Abbie Carmichael?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did he tell you how she felt about him getting the death penalty?"
"Oh, yes. He said she talked about it, threatened him with it. He said she said she wished she wanted to kill him herself."
"I have no more questions for this witness," Cutter said smugly.
"Does the defense wish to cross-examine?"
"I just have a few questions," Jack said, standing up.
"Mr. Webb, you just testified that Matt Bergstrom said Ms. Carmichael said she wanted to kill him. Isn't it true that her exact words were that she wished she could put the needle in is arm herself? Referring to the death penalty?"
"Yes, that's true."
"So she was talking about giving him the death penalty, not about murder, isn't that true?"
"To me it's the same thing," Webb replied.
"But not to the law. So it's true that she was talking about legally giving him a lethal injection?"
"Yes," agreed Webb.
"Mr. Webb, you helped Mr. Bergstrom appeal on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. Was his appeal granted?"
"No," Webb admitted.
"No further questions," said Jack.
Judge McKenna looked at the clock, and said, "We'll recess until tomorrow morning."
TBC
This chapter was basically testimony and technical courtroom stuff, but the next one will be more personal stuff. What did you think of this chapter, was it too technical or not?
Please review.