Free Tribal Court by Stephen Penner Page A

reasons," Talon was summing up, "the court should deny the prosecution's motion to exclude the defense of justifiable homicide by way of blood revenge. Thank you."
    Talon sat down and gave Brunelle a 'How ya like them apples?' smirk. He almost wished he'd listened to her.
    "Any rebuttal, Mr. Brunelle?" the judge asked with a raised eyebrow. The direction of his question to Brunelle and not Freddy was clearly intentional. Also clear, from the expression on his face, was the fact that he really didn't want to listen to any more lawyers talking.
    "No, Your Honor," Brunelle replied. "Thank you."
    Silence fell over the courtroom as Judge LeClair nodded and raised pressed fingertips to his lips. "This is a difficult question," he began. "One with wide-ranging impact. There is no doubt that current Washington law would not permit a jury to consider this killing to be justifiable homicide. At least not for the reasons put forward by Ms. Winter. Under Washington law, this would be a vigilante killing at best, cold-blooded revenge at worst. Under Washington law, this would be murder."
    He paused to take a sip of water.
    "But this isn't a Washington court. This is the Duwallup Indian Tribal Court. And this court's jurisdiction arises pursuant to a treaty between the Tribe and the government of the United States. And that treaty is over one hundred years old. So the threshold question is: Does this court apply Washington law of today, or tribal law of last century?"
    Brunelle looked at Freddy again. He knew they disagreed on the answer to that question.
    "If I decide that Washington law applies," Judge LeClair continued, "then that ends the inquiry and the defense is excluded. But if I decided that tribal law applies, then there is a secondary question: would this really have been a defense?"
    Brunelle nodded. He was right. LeClair had already analyzed this upside down and sideways. Maybe Freddy didn't do any damage after all.
    "Ms. Winter asserts that it would have been a defense," LeClair observed. "And interestingly, Mr. McCloud agrees."
    Then again… Brunelle glowered at Freddy.
    "Accordingly, who am I to disagree? The prosecution motion to exclude the defense of blood revenge is denied."
    A ripple of murmured cheers filtered through Quilcene's friends and family in the gallery.
    "Yesss," Talon hissed under her breath. She turned and looked at Brunelle. "Your ass," she whispered. "Kicked. By me."
    Brunelle rolled his eyes. He was really starting to dislike her. And it really pissed him off that she was so hot. He tried not to think about what he wanted to do to her ass.
    "The next motion," Judge LeClair announced, "is the defendant's motion to disqualify Mr. Brunelle from the prosecution of this case."
    "Your Honor?" Talon jumped to her feet. "The defense would ask the court to delay the hearing on that motion."
    "Delay?" Brunelle and the judge asked at the same time.
    "For how long?" Judge LeClair demanded suspiciously.
    "And why?" Brunelle added.
    "Just a few minutes," Talon answered. "And because I need to speak with Mr. Brunelle. In private."

Chapter 14
     
     
    Talon closed the conference room door behind her and turned to face Brunelle. Her hands were behind her, still on the doorknob, and her hair cascaded around her face, which was tipped forward, eyes inviting and dangerous. He could smell her perfume. Jasmine. They were alone.
    Enemy , Brunelle told himself over the blood rushing in his ears. Remember, she's the enemy .
    "David," she started. Not Brunelle. Not Jackass. Not even a simple 'Dave.' David . She was good. "Let's talk."
    Brunelle swallowed. He wasn't even sure he could talk. "Okay," he croaked. "What do you want to talk about?"
    "Us," she said, finally releasing the doorknob and taking a step toward him. Her hips swung as she walked. "And this case."
    Us? What the fuck does that mean? "Okay. Talk."
    Talon's mouth spread into a full-lipped smile. She crossed her arms, which only succeeded in pulling her