Free The TRIBUNAL by Peter B. Robinson Page B

court.”
        Judge Davidson turned and stormed off the bench.
        Kevin sat down as the guards led Draga from the room.
        Vladimir Krasnic chuckled. “You’re going to need your own lawyer if you keep this up,” he said as he walked away.
        Kevin looked out in the gallery. People were filing out, some shaking their heads.
        Judge Davidson returned to the bench thirty minutes later. “Mr. Anderson, you will be given ten days to file a memorandum in support of your position. The prosecution shall respond ten days thereafter. The Court will then rule on the matter. This arraignment is continued until 4 September at 1400 hours.”
        Stone was on his feet. “Your Honor, surely the Court is not seriously considering counsel’s position.”
        “I am bending over backwards to give counsel more time to research and consider his position. He is new and unfamiliar with our procedures. I don’t want him to do something he will later regret.”
        The judge looked at Kevin sternly.
        Kevin was on his feet. “I appreciate the Court’s consideration, Your Honor, but I request that an identity hearing be held forthwith.”
        “Request denied.”
        “Then I request that my client be released from custody, Your Honor. He is entitled to such a hearing without delay. September is over a month away.”
        “Sit down, Mr. Anderson, or you’ll be joining him in custody,” the judge barked. “Court is adjourned.”
        Everyone stood up as Judge Davidson strode from the bench.
        When Kevin turned around, Krasnic was already at Draga’s side, whispering to him. When the guards led Draga away, Krasnic turned to Kevin.
        “Don’t waste your time on the research, counselor. I’ll be preparing a written request for counsel that Mr. Zaric will sign tonight.”
        Kevin was tired. “That’s fine. I think I’m finished for today.”
        “With that performance you have finished your work here – forever.”
        

CHAPTER 6
        
        After court, Kevin hid out in the defense counsel room, hoping to avoid the news media that had gathered. As he waited, he wondered how things had gone so badly. At home, Diane was beside herself and Ellen was on edge about staying for school. Here at the Tribunal, he had managed to offend the judge, alienate the prosecutors, and annoy a fellow defense counsel. Plus, his client hated him. All this from doing what he thought he was supposed to do: serve as a responsible advocate for his client until being replaced.
        As a prosecutor, he had felt invincible; almost as if he could do no wrong.
        As a defense lawyer, he had so far done nothing right.
        Just after 5 p.m., he ventured down to the lobby. He had almost made it to the front door when a tall man with dark hair and a hawk-like face approached him.
        “I am Toma Lanko of the Bosnia News Service,” he said in an Eastern European accent. “Mr. Anderson, we have all seen pictures of Draga in his Black Dragon uniform and at his wedding. The man in court is clearly the same man. What is the point of your actions in court today?”
        It was a fair question.
        “Like any defendant, my client has the right to make the prosecution prove every point. Every issue must be challenged right from the beginning without any presumption of guilt. The only way that international courts will ever be accepted as a means for doing justice is for the accused to be given a vigorous defense and a fair trial.”
        Kevin firmly believed what he had said, and he would have defended those principals even as a prosecutor. They were Criminal Law 101 at law school.
        “But Draga seems to want no defense at all,” said the newsman.
        “Well, as his lawyer, I’m obligated to give him the best representation that I know how. If he doesn’t like it, he is certainly free to replace me with