Meeting of the trial participants

Posted on 11/16/2020 @ 5:10pm by Lieutenant T’Lanna Vali & Lieutenant Commander Wilbur Winchester JD & Lieutenant JG Jonah Webster JD
Edited on on 11/20/2020 @ 5:17pm

Mission: S3E1: Time of Change
Timeline: Day 80 at 1300

T’Lanna arrived for her meeting with the trial defense and prosecution people. Having worked with JAG before she was used to the process involved with trials but that didn’t make them any easier. A persons life and career was hanging in the balance and that made it all the more important that as an expert witness she covered all the necessary bases. She wasn’t going to testify until she had all the facts.

Wilbur was used to unorthodox ways of doing things. It had been his way of life since his earliest of boyhood memories; however, there was unorthodox and then there was that which stuck in his craw. This whole thing stuck in his craw, and that was evident by the puckering of his face and quick consumption of a shot of whiskey in his home office when JAG forwarded him the information of a case, a case he had accepted potentially out of sheer pigheadedness. He was known for being civil when he needed to be, but tumultuous when necessary, and a bit bullish.

Lieutenant Commander Wilbur Winchester had requested some assistance on this particular case, another JAG Lawyer as part of the defense counsel; he was assigned Jonah Webster, a Lieutenant Junor Grade in the JAG Corps. A meeting was scheduled with a Starfleet Psychologist, one who would be serving as an expert witness for the trial. Wilbur was more than willing to meet with Lieutenant Vali, but supplying her factual information about the case was not a task he took upon himself. He simply had the XO's log, personal logs, and general information compiled onto a PaDD for her.

When he arrived, he saw the woman and approached her. "Lieutenant Vali?" he said with a welcoming smile as he snatched the hat from his head and brought it towards his chest with a slight bow and nod. "Howdy miss," he added with his slow southern drawl. He extended his arm after retrieving a PaDD from his vest pocket. "The information you requested, though I am sure prosecution will provide you with similar. I am more than happy to sit down with you to discuss the case from our perspective when my fellow defense counsel arrives, but you'll excuse me my dear if I don't lay all my cards out on the table in front of prosecution."

“Of course” T’Lanna nodded. “I wouldn’t want you giving anything away that might be put to use by the prosecution.” She smiled warmly before taking a look at the PADD. “I have been , and will be, covering all the bases myself anyway. I don’t plan on testifying until everything is to my satisfaction. A young woman’s life and career depend on the outcome of this trial.”

"Yes, yes it does," Wilbur replied. "Fortunately for her, she didn't travel to Talos IV," he added with a small bit of dark humor. "Nevertheless, her career and potential freedom rest on the shoulders of myself and my colleague. You will find everything in that PaDD is from the USS Crazy Horse, it does not leave much for the imagination, but I question the neutrality of some of the word choices in the logs, especially that of the XO."

T’Lanna nodded as she looked at the PADD. “It’s not very encouraging I’ll admit. I feel for her but I won’t let it cloud my professional judgement. If I find myself starting to sway I’ll put my feelings aside and let my logic guide me. Being half Vulcan does have its plus points.”

Alex strolled into the room. She was confident and strode into the room as if she owned it. This was an open and shut case. The criminal came in and shot someone in cold blood. So what was the purpose of this meeting or an expert witness? However, what stopped Alex in her tracks was that the defendant's attorney was here. She looked at Wilbur and asked, "May I inquire as to the purpose of your being here?"

"I plead the fifth," retorted Wilbur in jest and placed his hat back upon his head. "The perfume of prosecution entered the room before you did, miss. I am as targ toed about your presence here as I am my own in your presence, but this here lady psychologist requested to meet me both sides, the rest of defense counsel should be arriving too," noted Wilbur. "I was about to explain why having us in the same room was in poor taste, but I'll let you go ahead and explain."

“This was my idea” T’Lanna offered a polite smile. “I know it’s unusual for defence and prosecution to be together in the same room and I don’t intend to discuss any matters that will interfere with this trial. I simply wanted to get some ground rules set and get to know those involved.”

Looking down her nose at Wilbur, she replied, "Uncouth, like your clients, I see, Commander Winchester." She then promptly ignored him and turned to the expert witness. "Do explain why you called this meeting. I am more than a little curious."

“I’ve worked with JAG previously in my career. Back then I was a victim advocate.” T’Lanna took a seat to give her aching back a rest. “Anything I can do to make this trial run smoothly and less stressfully the better really.”

A victim's advocate, Alex thought happily. Well, then she knows how vile this person is and this should be smooth. She smiled at T'Lanna, "The only thing that would make this more smooth is if the Commander convinces his client to plead guilty and accept lifetime internment for her actions."

“That all depends on how the court looks upon the defendant's actions. I intend to come fully prepared with all the facts, not just those noted on the official reports.” T’Lanna looked around those gathered. “I didn’t pull us all together to argue about the case, I wanted to meet all of you. Given this ...” She motioned to her bump with a grin. “I need to make sure things will run as smoothly and as stress free as possible.”

"There should be no stress. Your obligation is to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I expect nothing less than your expert analysis in this matter." Alex smiled warmly at T'Lanna. "After all, you're not the person on trial here. So, you have no reason for concern. Have you testified as an expert before?" Alex asked, starting to mentally work on her foundation for expert witness testimony.

T’Lanna nodded “Once or twice on behalf of victims.” She looked at Alex. “As for stress, I’m testifying on a case that will determine the future of a Starfleet Officer, I will be truthful but that in itself is stressful. Plus not everyone appreciates having an ex-Borg around.”

"Ex-Borg?" Jonah Webster commented just as he entered the conference room - he knew how to make an entrance. Tex had asked him to gather some additional research and so he had been running a few minutes late. He took a seat next to the elder defense lawyer and surveyed the room. Sitting adjacent to them was a very pregnant woman who wore the uniform of Starfleet science and the rank of a full lieutenant. Across from them sat Lt. Commander Alex Rahmer. The woman, who was much older than he, still had an elegant beauty, he offered a smile to the prosecutor before turning his attention to the pregnant lieutenant.

“That would be me” T’Lanna smiled as she looked at the new arrival. “You must be Lieutenant Webster. I was just commenting on the possible stress levels involved in this trial. For anyone who doesn’t already know I’m also a qualified Counsellor.”

It took everything in Alex's power to not roll her eyes at Webster. He was pulling the standard stunts of defense attorneys of trying to make himself likeable to the witness so that the witness would testify more favorably for him. More concerning to Alex was that T'Lanna had only testified as a victim's advocate and never as a counselor. It was time to test this witness, "I do not care what you were, Lieutenant Vali. What I do care about is your qualifications. Can you tell me in what capacity that you believe that you will testify and your qualifications to testify on that subject?"

“What capacity? I’m here to testify as to the mental state of the accused at the time that she killed a man. No doubt the her current mental state will be queried as well. As for my qualifications I’m a trained Psychologist and qualified Counsellor, I’m also half Betazoid and if a logical approach is required ...” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’m also half Vulcan.”

"Logic is helpful but not all Vulcans, especially half-Vulcans are trained in its rigidity. Tell me, were you educated on Vulcan? Did you participate in the kolinahr? And exactly how do you propose to testify as to the mental state of the defendant when you were not there? Do you believe that she was under some sort of compulsion or did not know right from wrong at the time?"

T’Lanna raised an eyebrow in typical Vulcan fashion. “To answer your questions ... I was assimilated by the Borg at the age of five, part of the collective until I was eleven, then I was liberated and re-educated on Vulcan over the following five years. As for the Kolinahr I think it’s perfectly evident that I’m not emotionless. I do, however, have the ability to switch between emotional and emotionless when necessary. As for my testimony this isn’t a court and I’m not here to be to answer trial related questions.”

"This may not be a trial but you called us here to speak with you. And, perhaps, because you have not testified as an expert before, you are unaware that no attorney ever goes into a courtroom without knowing the answers. I would rather not stress you or your unborn child by causing you to submit to a deposition or taking other action regarding your expertise. So, if you would just kindly answer my questions so that any testimony you give will not cause you undue stress, it would be appreciated." Alex decided that this witness was not likely to be a strong one and potentially not useful. However, she knew that she might be stuck with her in the future, so she tried to help T'Lanna understand how court works without seeming too irritated.

T’Lanna nodded. “Very well. How do you propose to testify as to the mental state of the defendant when I wasn’t there, I intend to cover not just written statements and reports but to speak to everyone involved including the defendant to get the full picture. As for whether I believe that she was under some sort of compulsion or did not know right from wrong at the time, that is something I will also discern from talking to the defendant herself.”

"You cannot testify as to what others tell you, Lieutenant. That's called heresay. It is impermissible. You're not an investigator. You're a witness. Perhaps you should leave this job to someone that is more experienced?"

“I suggest you clear that with Starfleet, I was requested to be here.” T’Lanna sighed and massaged her temples. This wasn’t turning out the way she had planned. “Perhaps it would be best if we called it a day.”

"May I remind you, Lieutenant, you called this meeting," Alex told her. "But, from everything that I have gathered here, you have nothing to report. You have not reviewed anything to make any determinations as to competency or criminal responsibility. And for some reason, you thought that by calling this meeting without any information would somehow mean that it would make it easier for you. So, yes, I will be contacting Starfleet because I have not heard one thing that qualifies you." With that, Alex concluded. "Good day!" and she started for the door.

“Hold your horses Lieutenant Commander!” T’Lanna slowly stood so she could be at eye level with the other woman. “I don’t know you from Adam but I can tell you exactly what your problem is. In your eyes everyone is guilty unless proven innocent, You’re arrogant, stubborn rigid and a total perfectionist. You don’t like to lose. Nothing wrong with that but bull in a china shop kind of comes to mind.” T’Lanna smiled. “I’m damn good at what I do Commander so you’d best be prepared to drop that almighty attitude because I’m not going anywhere!” She nodded to the gentlemen in the room. “gentlemen I will see you at the trial.” With that she walked out past Alex leaving the woman to stew in her own juices.

Damn good my ass! You have a high and mighty opinion of yourself when you've done absolutely nothing. That's fine. I'll put my complaint into Starfleet and we will see who has the last laugh. Undaunted by T'Lanna, Alex left, her strategy now clear.

"Bye, commander, have a pleasant day," Jonah called out to the prosecutor, as the door to the conference room slid shut with a soft hiss. His smirk had turned into an easy smile. "I guess Lieutenant Vali told her, huh?" He eased out of the chair, a bit suspicious how quiet Commander Winchester had been. "Do you want me to talk to the counselor? Maybe feel her out a bit?"

"Hot damn," Wilbur replied shaking his head and taking his hat off and pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and patted some sweat from his brow. "That right there was slobber knocker if I ever seen one" noted Wilbur Winchester. He took a deep breath and slapped his hat back atop his head.

He looked at Jonah. "I reckon that might be a good idea, but tread lightly there. Commander Rahner wasn't entirely out of order. This meeting was unconventional. Feel her out, see if she's able to be unbiased about this. Would be nice having her in our corner, but if prosecution has gotten a whiff of that, Vali may be a sore spot."

"Aye, I'll see what I can do, boss," Jonah replied. He picked up the PaDD he had brought and gave Winchester a quick nod and left to go contact Lieutenant Vali.

**

A Post by

Lieutenant T’Lanna Vali
Chief Counsellor/Expert Wtness
USS Standing Bear

Lieutenant Commander
Wilbur Winchester, JD
JAG, Lead Attorney for Defense
NPC for J. Joral

Lt. Commander Alex Rahmer
JAG, Attorney for the Prosecution

Lieutenant JG Jonah Webster, JD
JAG, Junior Attorney for the Defense
NPC of K. Gallagher