"NOT GUILTY."
Danny Cartwright could feel his legs
trembling as they sometimes did before
the first round of a boxing match he
knew he was going to
... [Show More] lose. The
associate recorded the plea on the
indictment and, looking up at Danny,
said, "You can sit down."
Danny collapsed onto the little chair
in the center of the dock, relieved that
the first round was over. He looked up at
the referee, who was seated on the far
side of the courtroom in a high-backed
green leather chair that had the
appearance of a throne. In front of him
was a long oak bench littered with case
papers in ring binders, and a notebook
opened at a blank page. Mr. Justice
Sackville looked across at Danny, his
expression revealing neither approval
nor disapproval. He removed a pair of
half-moon spectacles from the end of his
nose and said in an authoritative voice,
"Bring in the jury."
While they all waited for the twelve
men and women to appear, Danny tried
to take in the unfamiliar sights and
sounds of court number four at the Old
Bailey. He looked across at the two men
who were seated at either end of what
he'd been told was counsel's bench. His
young advocate, Alex Redmayne, looked
up and gave him a friendly smile, but the
older man at the other end of the bench,
whom Mr. Redmayne always referred to
as prosecution counsel, never once
glanced in his direction.
Danny transferred his gaze up into the
public gallery. His parents were seated
in the front row. His father's burly
tattooed arms were resting on the
balcony railing, while his mother's head
remained bowed. She raised her eyes
occasionally to glance down at her only
son.
It had taken several months for the
case of The Crown versus Daniel
Arthur Cartwright finally to reach the
Old Bailey. It seemed to Danny that once
the law became involved, everything
happened in slow motion. And then
suddenly, without warning, the door in
the far corner of the courtroom opened
and the usher reappeared. He was
followed by seven men and five women
who had been selected to decide his
fate. They filed into the jury box and sat
in their unallocated places—six in the
front row, six behind them; strangers
with nothing more in common than the
lottery of selection.
Once they had settled, the associate
rose from his place to address them.
"Members of the jury," he began. "The
defendant, Daniel Arthur Cartwright,
stands before you charged on one count
of murder. To that count he has pleaded
not guilty. Your charge therefore is to
listen to the evidence and decide
whether he be guilty or no." [Show Less]