Death Penalty Read Free Page B

not, I had to do what was best for my client. Hey, things like that happen.”
    â€œAnd you think something similar might be going on over in the court of appeals?”
    â€œI hear talk. Nothing concrete, like I said, but it’s possible.”
    â€œI’m not a Sid Williams, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
    He looked hurt. “Jesus, Charley, I know that. But you got friends on that court. I just thought you might have heard something. Anyway, that’s not the reason I wanted to talk to you.”
    â€œWhat is?”
    â€œI would like you to handle this big appeal I got over there.”
    â€œWhat’s it about?”
    â€œIt’s a product liability case. The defendant is Ford, although it’s really about a recreational vehicle made by another company. Ford bought that company and with it all the claims pending against it. Anyway, my man is driving this big hog of a self-propelled mobile home when the damn thing accelerates suddenly, like a fucking rocket, and he slams into a tree. Fractured just about every bone in his body, including his neck. He’s paralyzed. About the only thing that works is his mouth.”
    â€œDid Ford make a settlement offer?”
    â€œThey just laughed at me.”
    â€œProduct liability cases are tough to win.”
    He nodded. “You’re telling me. Nobody else would even touch the damn thing. Christ, the damages are terrific. The guy’s a plumber and made good money. He’s thirty-five, so he had a lot of work years left in him.”
    â€œDamages don’t count if you can’t show the company was liable. It sounds like the old story, Mickey, good damages, bad liability.”
    â€œI dug up some other incidents involving the same make and model of recreational vehicle. Sudden acceleration, exactly the same, injuries too, but none as bad as my man’s. The company had notice the product was dangerous but did nothing about it. I really put some work into the damn case. Cash, too.”
    â€œIt sounds like you got a little carried away?”
    He sighed. “More than that. I went out and borrowed heavy money to pay for expert witnesses. You know, engineers who could testify about the vehicle and why it did what it did. They made tests and that sort of thing. Counting everything, I’m out forty grand. All money that I don’t have.”
    â€œDoes the client have it?”
    â€œHe’s in worse financial shape than I am. He and his family are living on Social Security disability. They livewith his wife’s folks.”
    I shook my head in sympathy. All lawyers gamble now and then, but what Mickey had done was equal to trying to fill an inside straight. No matter how you looked at it, that kind of gamble just wasn’t smart.
    â€œAnd you want me to handle the appeal?”
    He grinned. “Yeah.”
    â€œAnd just maybe you’d like to tag me with part of those expenses you ran up?”
    He pretended mock surprise. “God, what a good thought, Charley. Would you do that?”
    â€œOf course not.”
    Mickey signaled for another drink. It was now starting to bother me. The scotch had begun to look inviting.
    â€œHere’s the deal, Charley. You take over the appeal. I did all the trial work and invested all that dough. I even did the appellate brief. It won’t cost you a penny. Whatever I get, you get twenty percent of that. I figure that’s fair.”
    â€œTwenty percent of nothing isn’t very much.”
    â€œIt could be. In this case, it could really turn out to be a lot.”
    â€œStill dreaming, Mickey? What makes you think you’ll win in the court of appeals if you lost the trial?”
    â€œI didn’t lose,” he said, and this time there was no smile.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œThe jury came back with a verdict for just under five million.”
    â€œJesus!”
    â€œFord is the one appealing the