ask, and the fifteen or so spectators in the gallery laugh.
Oakes doesn’t seem inclined to answer that question, so I ask another one. “Detective, why is an armed guard stationed outside
Milo’s cage?”
“I can’t say,” he mumbles, obviously uncomfortable with the subject.
“You don’t know, or you feel you shouldn’t say?” I ask.
“I can’t say.” His emphasis is on “can’t.”
“Do you want to use a lifeline? Maybe phone a friend?”
Eli objects that I’m being disrespectful to the witness, which I never knew was an official objection, but the judge sustains
it anyway, and asks me to rephrase.
“At taxpayers’ expense, an officer is sitting in an animal shelter twenty-four hours a day, and you can’t tell us why?”
“No.”
I turn to Judge Catchings. “Your Honor…”
“Detective Oakes,” he says, “you’re going to have to do better than that.”
Oakes thinks about it for a few moments and then says, “We received a request from the federal authorities.”
Pete was right; the feds are somehow in on this. What is puzzling to me is why they would go to such lengths to guard Milo,
but then take no action to intervene in this hearing.
Neither the judge nor Eli seems to know what to make of this, and I certainly can’t shed any light on it. Catchings lets Oakes
off the hook, accepting the cryptic reference to the feds as his final answer. I wish I could probe more, but he won’t let
me.
My final witness is Juliet Corsinita, a dog trainer whose home and office are in Teaneck, but who has developed a geographicallywide clientele. She has a local TV show in which she dispenses training tips, and her dry sense of humor and easy way with
dogs have earned her quite a following.
Juliet has a training camp of sorts on her property, and people bring their animals to her for six weeks of “boot camp” during
which they learn pretty much all a dog can learn. I’ve watched her in action, and the training is done with love and care;
there is no fear or punishment, and certainly no physical violence involved.
As soon as Juliet is called, Eli stands up to object. “Your Honor, I fail to see the relevance. It is my understanding that
Ms. Corsinita, whatever her qualifications, has never worked with the dog in question, and has no direct knowledge of the
incident itself.”
Eli has obviously had his staff do quick homework on this; when he saw Juliet’s name on the witness list, he must have had
someone question her in advance of her appearance.
“Your Honor,” I say, “Ms. Corsinita is being called to testify about my client’s state of mind.” This draws a roar from the
gallery and a loud laugh and thigh slap from Willie, whom I will have to admonish about correct conduct at the defense table.
Eli has to stifle a smile himself, and he says, “Your Honor, this has moved from the ridiculous to the bizarre.”
The judge turns to me and asks, “How can Ms. Corsinita possibly testify to this dog’s state of mind? And why is that relevant?”
“Your Honor, Ms. Corsinita is an expert on dogs and how they think. She has studied Milo’s history, and will be able to inform
the court substantially as to the general way that a dog in his situation would react. If the court feels it is unhelpful,
it can certainly disregard her point of view. There is no jury impact to worry about.”
“It’s a waste of the court’s time,” Eli says. “And it has the potential to further send this proceeding into chaos.”
Judge Catchings stares daggers at Eli; apparently he doesn’t like being accused of running a chaotic courtroom.
“Your Honor,” I say, “I think everyone will agree that Milo is being held on a simple charge of theft. The prosecutor and
arresting officer have admitted it. In such cases, when it is a first offense, there are two factors among those to consider
as it relates to bail or an outright acquittal. First, is the accused a
Oakes doesn’t seem inclined to answer that question, so I ask another one. “Detective, why is an armed guard stationed outside
Milo’s cage?”
“I can’t say,” he mumbles, obviously uncomfortable with the subject.
“You don’t know, or you feel you shouldn’t say?” I ask.
“I can’t say.” His emphasis is on “can’t.”
“Do you want to use a lifeline? Maybe phone a friend?”
Eli objects that I’m being disrespectful to the witness, which I never knew was an official objection, but the judge sustains
it anyway, and asks me to rephrase.
“At taxpayers’ expense, an officer is sitting in an animal shelter twenty-four hours a day, and you can’t tell us why?”
“No.”
I turn to Judge Catchings. “Your Honor…”
“Detective Oakes,” he says, “you’re going to have to do better than that.”
Oakes thinks about it for a few moments and then says, “We received a request from the federal authorities.”
Pete was right; the feds are somehow in on this. What is puzzling to me is why they would go to such lengths to guard Milo,
but then take no action to intervene in this hearing.
Neither the judge nor Eli seems to know what to make of this, and I certainly can’t shed any light on it. Catchings lets Oakes
off the hook, accepting the cryptic reference to the feds as his final answer. I wish I could probe more, but he won’t let
me.
My final witness is Juliet Corsinita, a dog trainer whose home and office are in Teaneck, but who has developed a geographicallywide clientele. She has a local TV show in which she dispenses training tips, and her dry sense of humor and easy way with
dogs have earned her quite a following.
Juliet has a training camp of sorts on her property, and people bring their animals to her for six weeks of “boot camp” during
which they learn pretty much all a dog can learn. I’ve watched her in action, and the training is done with love and care;
there is no fear or punishment, and certainly no physical violence involved.
As soon as Juliet is called, Eli stands up to object. “Your Honor, I fail to see the relevance. It is my understanding that
Ms. Corsinita, whatever her qualifications, has never worked with the dog in question, and has no direct knowledge of the
incident itself.”
Eli has obviously had his staff do quick homework on this; when he saw Juliet’s name on the witness list, he must have had
someone question her in advance of her appearance.
“Your Honor,” I say, “Ms. Corsinita is being called to testify about my client’s state of mind.” This draws a roar from the
gallery and a loud laugh and thigh slap from Willie, whom I will have to admonish about correct conduct at the defense table.
Eli has to stifle a smile himself, and he says, “Your Honor, this has moved from the ridiculous to the bizarre.”
The judge turns to me and asks, “How can Ms. Corsinita possibly testify to this dog’s state of mind? And why is that relevant?”
“Your Honor, Ms. Corsinita is an expert on dogs and how they think. She has studied Milo’s history, and will be able to inform
the court substantially as to the general way that a dog in his situation would react. If the court feels it is unhelpful,
it can certainly disregard her point of view. There is no jury impact to worry about.”
“It’s a waste of the court’s time,” Eli says. “And it has the potential to further send this proceeding into chaos.”
Judge Catchings stares daggers at Eli; apparently he doesn’t like being accused of running a chaotic courtroom.
“Your Honor,” I say, “I think everyone will agree that Milo is being held on a simple charge of theft. The prosecutor and
arresting officer have admitted it. In such cases, when it is a first offense, there are two factors among those to consider
as it relates to bail or an outright acquittal. First, is the accused a
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