The winter had been harsh; snow had fallen almost every day
since the temperatures took a nose dive. If only an inch, it would still fall
and it seemed unnaturally cold and wet this year. Karen hadn't remembered a
time that they had a winter like this and it made her think about traveling to
a resort, laying on a beach and basking in the sunlight. She would chuckle at
the thought of doing so because she knew that it was impossible, to get away.
There were always constraints placed upon Karen, some self-imposed
and others placed on her by her job. Karen loved what she did, well at least on
most days, but there were times that Karen thought about throwing in the towel.
Those were the days when she found no justice in The Justice System.
Karen had worked her way through her Undergraduate Degree and
then on to Law School, it was no small feat for a girl of humble beginnings and
she had been the first person in her family to ever to graduate from college.
She worked both to support the cost of school and to help her family, she knew
ultimately that her degree would help her to provide more for them, to buy her
aging parents a home, to help her younger siblings attend school. Being the
oldest child out of six, Karen wanted to be the role model for her family.
She had seen how hard her father had worked to put their
daily meals on the table and she watched as her two younger sisters grumbled at
her hand me downs. They hated wearing her clothes and she hated seeing them do
it, feeling like she always got the new things and they always got the cast a
ways. She watched as her father cashed his payroll checks and walked two blocks
to pay the rent on a home he could never buy.
After Karen graduated from Law School she saved every penny
she could, except for the occasional and whimsical shopping expedition with her
two younger sisters. She loved those days, they would have lunch and she would
buy them new things, different things and the things her parents couldn't
afford. She smiled as she remembered taking the girls to Victoria's Secret for
the first time, how they didn't even know what to think about the multitude of
undergarments. She remembered how she had felt in school to have to dress out
for gym class and how being poor had affected her self-esteem every time. She
didn't want that for her little sisters and so she made sure that they had a
little bit better road than she did, just simply by taking them to the
semi-annual sale and purchasing things for them. She laughed out loud as she recalled
her youngest sister asking for a push up water bra and having to explain that
first she needed something to push up. It was, for Karen, like everything she
did, an effort to give to her family and in some ways she felt more like the parent
than a child.
Karen had saved a good deal of money from her case work, she
often took on more cases than anyone could reasonably expect to handle, but she
did; and she did so because she put in the time, a lot of it. All the work she
was doing, all the time she spent at her office was goal driven, and that was
part of her make-up, set a goal and reach it. She wanted to buy a home for her
parents that was large enough to accommodate the family and one that could
easily be paid for. To do so she had to make a large down payment and so she
saved.
The day came where Karen had saved enough money and the right
house came on the market. It was in a great location, close to her father's job
and kept her siblings in the right school district. That was important to Karen
because it had been important to her father. He had sacrificed; the family had done
without so she could go to the best school.
As soon as the house came on the market Karen called her real estate
agent and made an offer, which was accepted right away.
As the closing date approached Karen started to make plans to
move her parents into the house, no one knew what she had done, in fact, and
her parents didn't even know she had already let their landlord in on the
surprise. The landlord was excited for her parents and proud of Karen for
making such a loving gift and so he had kept the secret for her. Her siblings
didn't even have any idea what she was doing, despite her having taken them on
whimsical imaginary furniture shopping expeditions to furnish a simple castle,
should they ever acquire one. This was how she managed to buy furniture that
they had picked out and she paid for. Her family would move into to a home that
was all new, right down to the dishes, in just a few short days.
Closing day came and Karen had begun to get nervous, she was
scheduled to close at 2 o'clock that afternoon, all the paperwork had been
completed, she had dinner being delivered to the house for a family dinner and
she had coordinated everyone's schedules to make this happen. But today, her
docket was running late, the attorney on the other side of her case
stonewalling her and she didn't know why. They had a deal yesterday, worked it
all out, to what she had thought, had been the mutual satisfaction of the
parties, or so she thought. And at this instant Karen had no clue what this
guy's end game was or what he was trying to accomplish with his endless
delaying tactics.
Karen needed to make a decision quickly, should she postpone
her closing, should she call in someone to cover her case or ask the Judge for
a continuance. Her client was there, waiting for his child to be returned to
him. The mother wasn't there, she was supposed to be and she was supposed to
turn the child over, and she was supposed to relinquish custody in front of the
Judge. They had all agreed to it, this was what was best for the little girl;
her father could offer her stability that the mother could not. Karen was tired
of waiting, and it was time to put her foot down.
Approaching the bailiff, Karen took on the persona of the
tough litigator she was known as, she signaled for opposing counsel to follow
her, which he instinctively did. Karen asked that they be granted an
opportunity to speak to the Judge in order to proffer the Agreement the parties
had reached and to have a warrant issued for the mother's failure to appear. Of
course, just as Karen suspected, opposing counsel didn’t like that idea, but
the bailiff asked them to hang on and he would speak to the judge.
They watched as the bailiff disappeared behind the dark heavy
door, and they watched and waited for what seemed to be an eternity for him to
return. As the bailiff opened the door
this time he stood there holding it open and motioned for them to enter. Karen
signaled to her client to follow her, which he did nervously. Once in the
Courtroom Karen told the father to stand by her and remain there until she told
him to sit. Opposing counsel was noticeably anxious and Karen wondered why,
what did he know and what was he hiding? Had he possibly encouraged his client
to run, had she run?
The Judge appeared in the Courtroom and as the obligatory
announcement of who he was ended Karen nodded at him, they had known each other
a very long time and she had earned his respect, but her respect for him far
outweighed any he could give her because he was fair and dealt swiftly with
injustices. As the Judge took his seat and began to look over the case in front
of him the bailiff approached the bench and whispered to the Judge. Karen
noticed his eyebrow go up, an indicator that he was clearly dismayed by what he
had just heard. She looked at opposing counsel with a questioning expression,
he returned her look with bewilderment and a hand motion that he had no idea
what was going on.
Just then the Judge spoke, his voice stern as he informed
both counsel that he would be entering an Order granting Karen's client sole
custody of the party's child. Karen smiled, she would make her closing and her
surprise and for a brief moment she was relieved. That relief faded quickly as the Judge
informed Karen's client that he was sending his Clerk back to get a certified
copy of the Order and no one was to leave the Courtroom until she returned.
Karen knew that there was something seriously wrong at that moment, and she
knew the Judge knew more than either her or opposing counsel.
Karen took her client's arm and held it as if to keep him
under control as the clerk walked back and handed the Order to the Judge. It
seemed there was more to be said and done and no one in that room but the Judge
and the bailiff had any idea what would come next. The Judge told counsel they
would find copies of his Order in their court boxes the next day, but Karen's
client would be getting his now, that he would have sole custody of his child,
and he would be leaving with the bailiff immediately as the child and her
mother were in an accident on the way to the hearing.
The child needed immediate medical attention and the father
was to attend to her. As Karen's client was escorted out of the courtroom and
to the hospital she stood there worried about how the child was, would she be
alright. Karen was brought back to reality by the Judge's proclamation that the
mother had been driving under the influence and that she was in critical
condition; he further stated that if she made it she would be facing serious
charges for endangering the welfare of a minor. Karen felt the tear forming in
her eye as she looked down and shook her head.
Today there was no justice in The Justice System, for today
an innocent child, one that should have been with her father months before was
hurt. The delays in the system had allowed that, and today she wanted out, out
of the weather, out of the system and out of the game. And getting out would
not come for Karen had a closing to go to and a family to which she had become
the parent to protect.
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