Nick's Daughter

The Accused Is Entitled

(so little disclaimer, Destiny will be in court as well and yes there will be extra parts here and there)

We were at the crime scene. I never cared for movies that didn't have a musical number that I could re-create in my room. I was guarding blood evidence when I think I fell asleep cause the next thing I know I'm in the backseat of my dad's car. "Hey Des I think you fell asleep against Warrick's car so I put you in the back of mine and drove you, "Dad said. "Thanks, Dad, "I said confused. What happened in those few seconds? My head pounded but I shook it off and went inside. We had work to do. Greg and I set off to work. "Is that a mark," Greg asked me once he saw something on my neck. "looks like some type of pressure point someone pressed into with something," He said. "Can you make a mould, "I asked. "sure I'll get the kit," he said and left. After the mould was made I looked at it under the microscope. "I got skin flakes," I said asking for the tweezers. As I put the skin flakes aside we got the blood from the case. "Let's get to work, "I said and rolled over to the blood samples.

Later

Inside the CSI Lab. We were watching Paula Francis on the T.V. "Detectives and forensics experts are sifting through evidence this hour, making their case against actor Tom Haviland. We'll recap the story as we wait for a live feed from a downtown news conference with Haviland's attorney. Several witnesses have already spoken to police about Haviland's actions outside the murder," she said. With the remote, Dad turns off the television. "Proceed, sir, "Dad said. Uncle Grissom spoke," Okay, we got at least one murder charge on Haviland. I imagine we'll add another one." "Tonya, "Aunt Cathrine filled in. "So, let's run Kim Hsu's murder. Haviland slashed her throat probably with a corkscrew," Uncle Grissom said. Aunt Catherine spoke up next, "Then, showing consciousness of guilt he washed the blood off in this room which is right around the corner from his suite. We found dilute blood in the sink, pipes and ... footprint ridges there. "Do we have the results on the blood from Haviland's hands?" Uncle Grissom asked. "I got held up behind a traffic accident. I put it in with Greg. I'm not sure if he's done with it yet, "Uncle Warrick said. "Wait for it," I said. Greg walked in holding the test results. He hands them to Uncle Grissom and says, "I got it right here. The forensic sample matches the reference. The blood on Tom's hands was the victim's. Triple-checked the data." Uncle Warrick said, "We got our guy then." Dad then turned our attention to the T.V. by saying, "Oh, here she is." Dad picks up the remote and turns the television sound back up. It was Tom's Lawyer. "Aside from the fact that the other woman in this case also known as Tonya is still at large and is still a likely suspect in this murder the evidence Las Vegas CSI did collect the evidence they're using to railroad my client, Tom Haviland, has been completely and irretrievably compromised. I'm holding in my hand compromised, contaminated evidence, ladies and gentlemen," Marjorie Wescott said. Aunt Cathrine gasps. She turns to look at Uncle Grissom who looks equally surprised at the announcement. He turns and looks at Dad who doesn't seem all that surprised at the defence attorney's tactics. He sighs. Marjorie went on to say, "CSI should be ashamed; and you, as citizens, should be outraged. This is not how we do things in America." I can tell I hate her even without meeting her.

A little later we all met in Uncle Grissom's office. "Tom Haviland's attorneys are not waiving time, "Uncle Grissom said once we were all in this office. Dad looked surprised. "Are you serious," He asked. "Classic, "I said. "They're actually exercising their right to a speedy trial, "Aunt Sara asked Uncle Grissom said, "No requests for continuances, no stall tactics. They're pushing for their day in court." Uncle Warrick commented, "Good defence attorney always does the last thing you expect." "Yeah. What typically drags on for months has now been put on the fast track and the prelim is less than seventy-two hours."Aunt Catherine said. "Destiny and I are only done processing half the evidence," Greg said. Aunt Cathrine looked at us and said, "You're going to have to call in help or stop flirting so much because if the judge thinks that our evidence isn't strong enough to go to trial he's going to dismiss the charges on Tom." Both Greg and I blushed. "Can't the DA drop the charges and we'll refile when we get our evidence together, "Aunt Sara asked. "Sure, but the odds are that Tom will relocate to Europe and pull a Polanski, "Aunt Cathrine said. Greg then asked," And what's a Polanski?" "I got this one. Get-out-of-jail-free card, "I said. "One more thing: Wescott just added a forensic scientist to their roster. She wants him to examine every piece of evidence we have against Haviland."Uncle Grissom said. "As soon as it's processed they'll get a copy of our report, "Dad said. I flared up. "Not if I can help it, "I said. "They're entitled to see it as it's processed," Uncle Grissom said. Dad sighed, "I've never done a case where the defendant took advantage of that rule of discovery." Uncle Grissom said, "Well when you can't attack the evidence itself, you attack the method of gathering the evidence." I nodded at his words. "So who's their guy, "I asked. "Dr. Phillip Gerard, "Uncle Grissom said. "Phillip Gerard? Your mentor is their forensic scientist, "Aunt Sara asked. Uncle Grissom nodded, "Yeah. Marjorie Wescott's a smart lawyer."