Chapter 302
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On Febuary 28th Eve was informed she'd have to testify tomorrow. Most of those arrested these days only spent one day and night in jail. The theory was to scare them straight, and they couldn't spare the resources of keeping them indefinitely without having them work. Eve was to be a character witness, testifying about dr Benjamin Weber. Weber was being accussed of occult practices, attempting to commune with the devil himself. Before the uprising Weber visited psychics, but the current charges seemed exxagerated. There might've been another reason for Weer's arrest. Eve knew for a fact that Weber illegaly supplied people with birth-control, maybe he even implicated Eve in this. Eve vowed that if she were accussed, she wouldn't implicate Jamal. Technically he didn't know what these pills were that his wife was taking, and she would never tell him directly.
Eve showed up at the Brooklyn courthouse early Friday morning. She saw the trial for herself, her first chance to really see the new government's justice. The verdict would be decided by a judge, not a jury. Maybe this was because they couldn't spare twelve citizens for one trial. Eve thought this might help, a judge was more experienced, less swayed by emotion than civilians. The judge opened the trial with a brief prayer, then they got down to business. Weber was given counsel, who seemed to be doing okay. The doctor admitted to seeing psychics only before the uprising, before it was illegal. The court had no evidence contradicting this. Then they questioned him about other things. With less than five months until impact it made little sense to become pregnant. Abortion was illegal, some women resorted to drastic measures to end their pregnancies. Weber was suspected of helping with illegal abortions. He denied this charge. The prosecutor asked if he'd treated women who had illegal abortions. Weber's counsel objected, reminded the court that he was bound by doctor-patient priveledge. The judge sustained the objection. The prosecutor then called Eve to the stand. He asked what she knew about dr Weber. Eve talked about how Weber saved her life, and her baby's life, even when she tried to murder her own baby. She didn't know about what else he might've done. But after all he'd done for her and Hope, she was more than willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Benjamin Weber gave Eve a look of gratitude. The judge didn't seem to realize that this was partly because Eve didn't implicate him in giving away birth-control pills. After her testimony Eve was dismissed, sent back to her job. Later that evening Eve learned the verdict. Because he'd previously visited psychics, Weber would be required to attend a re-education seminar, in addition to his regular work at the hospital. But die to lack of evidence regarding current crimes, the judge found dr Benjamin Weber not guilty.