The Crime Hump Chronicles: Another Day

Another day, another phone call from my lawyer that I can’t talk about yet. The news is good but I know it will be awhile before I get to share it. I have the same lawyer for criminal and civil court. I trust him and he trusts me. We have been working together for over a year and a half now. He knows when I tell him something that he can be sure I’m telling the truth. The truth is what drives me. I tell him that it is really important that I testify. He agrees. I have a lot to say and I tell him in more detail what that is. He asks me to write it out and have it ready for my next court date in a few days. He is going to meet me there.

Another day, another half pot of coffee I consume before heading to another one of my criminal court appearances. I meet my lawyer outside the court house. I give him what he asked for. His eyes widen. We walk in and go to courtroom two. All the other lawyers know him. They talk like old friends, reuniting for the first time. I get a couple affirming nods from some of the other accused in the room. I can see another lawyer sitting beside mine, nonchalantly looking at my lawyer’s notes. My matter is spoken to almost immediately. We were supposed to have the agency’s notes by now. My trial was adjourned because these notes were not ready. They have had over a month to prepare them. The notes are still not ready. The Crown says they need an additional 30 days and requests an adjournment. My matter is stayed over until October 16th, 2017.

Another day of unsurprising disappointment and another day spent writing about it. My criminal trial was supposed to occur last month. One week before it was going to start, the Crown requested an adjournment. I actually felt like I grieved the loss of my trial date, a feeling I never would have imagined having about a court date. I was so ready. Everything remains at a standstill and I find this quite frustrating. I want to have goals and to be working towards them. I can’t do a whole lot with a pending two-week criminal court trial date that has yet to even be set again. It was supposed to be over by now. People are supposed to know what really happened now. It may take another day, a few more times, but I am going to testify and no amount of delay will prevent that.

-Kelley Denham