Resurrection Walk

“Please, Gian. It’s important to the case. It’s important that it be brought to her attention as soon as possible. In fact, I think she will be upset with you if she learns there was a delay because of a little red light.”

“Okay, well, let me just go back and see if her door is open.”

“Do that. Thank you. If it’s closed, knock on it.”

“We’ll see. Just stay here and I’ll be back.”

He got up and went through the door at the rear of the corral into the hall that led to the judge’s chambers.

I waited three minutes and then the door finally opened. Brown came through without the judge. He was shaking his head.

“Her door is closed,” he said.

“Well, did you knock?” I asked.

“No. It’s clear she doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

Without a second thought, I stood on my toes and leaned over the half wall of the corral. I reached my hand toward the judge’s call button. My feet were in the air and I was balanced on the six-inch-wide wall cap.

“Hey!” Brown exclaimed.

I pushed the button and held my finger on it until my weight pulled me back and my feet were on the floor.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Brown yelled.

“I need to see her, Gian,” I said. “It’s an emergency.”

“Doesn’t matter. You had no right to do that. You need to leave the courtroom now.”

I raised my hands and started backing away from the corral.

“I’m going to be in the hall,” I said. “I’ll be there all day or until she—”

I heard buzzing from the corral. Brown walked to his desk and picked up the phone.

“Yes, Judge,” he said.

As he listened, I started returning to the corral.

“It’s Mr. Haller,” Brown said. “He pushed the button because I wouldn’t disturb you.”

I got to the corral and leaned over the half wall.

“Judge, I need to see you,” I said loudly.

Brown put his hand over the phone and turned his back to me. “He said it’s an SDT and there’s a time issue,” he said. “Yes, that was him. He’s still here.”

Brown listened for a few seconds and then hung up. He spoke with his back still to me.

“She said she’d see you,” he said. “You can go in.”

“Thank you, Gian,” I said. “I owe you a macchiato.”

“Don’t bother.”

“Extra caramel.”

I went through the corral to the hall. Judge Coelho was standing in the open door to her chambers. Instead of a black robe, she wore blue jeans and a button-down corduroy shirt.

“This better be good, Mr. Haller,” she said.

She turned and led the way into her chambers.

“Please excuse my casual dress,” she said as she walked behind her desk. “Because of the continuance we are dark all day, and my plan was to catch up on my writing.”

I knew that meant she was writing decisions and court orders. She took the seat behind her desk and pointed to one of the chairs across from her.

“Subpoena duces tecum,” she said. “You are up to something you don’t want Mr. Morris to know about. Yet.”

“Yes, Your Honor,” I said.

“Sit down, please. Talk to me.”

“Thank you. Time is of the essence, Judge. We learned this morning that evidence from the original case was not disposed of after it was adjudicated five years ago. Lucinda Sanz’s original attorney had received a split of evidence for independent testing — one of the gunshot-residue pads allegedly wiped over Sanz’s hands and clothing.”

“And you’re saying it’s still available?”

“It’s at the independent lab that her attorney Frank Silver took it to. Applied Forensics in Van Nuys. We also learned that they did not use all of the material when they conducted a gunshot-residue test back then. They are still holding a piece of a GSR pad that was untested.”

“And just what do you want to do with it?”

“Judge, I need a subpoena from you for a DNA swab from my client in the federal detention center. Then I need you to issue a sealed order directing Applied Forensics to compare her DNA to that of the untested evidence held at the lab there.”

She stared at me for a long moment, trying to connect the dots.

“Okay, walk me through it,” she finally said.

“Our contention has always been that the GSR evidence in the original case against Sanz was planted,” I said. “It had to have been planted, because she did not shoot a gun. So, she was wiped by Deputy Sanger with GSR pads, but then somewhere along the line the pads were switched with contaminated pads that then tested positive for GSR. The DNA test we are asking for should find Sanz’s touch DNA — skin cells — on the pad at Applied Forensics if it was actually swiped on her skin.”

“Then the test you are asking for will cut both ways. If her DNA is found on that pad, your contention is proven wrong. Are you sure you want to take that chance, Mr. Haller?”

“Absolutely, Judge. We are all in.”

“We? You’ve discussed the risks with your client? If her DNA is on that GSR pad, you know where this will go.”

“She knows what’s going on and she’s all in too. She’s innocent. She knows her DNA won’t be on that pad.”