The Lincoln Lawyer

start.”
    I knew this was different from even my practice of that morning-accepting payment from a third party. But it was a control issue. One look across the table at Mary Alice Windsor and C. C. Dobbs and I knew I had to make sure that they knew this was my case to manage, to win or to lose.
    I wouldn’t have thought it could happen but Mary Windsor’s face hardened. For some reason she reminded me of an old grandfather clock, her face flat and square.
    “Mother,” Roulet said, heading something off before it started. “It’s all right. I will write him a check. I should be able to cover it until you give me the money.”
    She looked from me to her son and then back to me.
    “Very well,” she said.
    “Mrs. Windsor,” I said. “Your support for your son is very important. And I don’t mean just the financial end of things. If we are not successful in getting these charges dropped and we choose the alternative of trial, it will be very important for you to show your support in public ways.”
    “Don’t be silly,” she said. “I will back him come hell or high water. These ridiculous charges must be removed, and that woman… she isn’t going to get a penny from us.”
    “Thank you, Mother,” Roulet said.
    “Yes, thank you,” I said. “I will be sure to inform you, probably through Mr. Dobbs, where and when you are needed. It’s good to know you will be there for your son.”
    I said nothing else and waited. It didn’t take her long to realize she had been dismissed.
    “But you don’t want me here right now, is that it?”
    “That’s right. We need to discuss the case and it is best and most appropriate for Louis to do this only with his defense team. The attorney-client privilege does not cover anyone else. You could be compelled to testify against your son.”
    “But if I leave, how will Louis get home?”
    “I have a driver. I will get him home.”
    She looked at Dobbs, hoping he might have higher standing and be able to overrule me. Dobbs smiled and stood up so he could pull her chair back. She finally let him and stood up to go.
    “Very well,” she said. “Louis, I will see you at dinner.”
    Dobbs walked her through the door of the conference room and I saw them exchange conversation in the hallway. I couldn’t hear what was said. Then she left and Dobbs came back, closing the door.
    I went through some preliminaries with Roulet, telling him he would have to be arraigned in two weeks and submit a plea. He would have the opportunity at that time to put the state on notice that he was not waiving his right to a speedy trial.
    “That’s the first choice we have to make,” I said. “Whether you want this thing to drag out or you want to move quickly and put the pressure on the state.”
    “What are the options?” Dobbs asked.
    I looked at him and then back at Roulet.
    “I’ll be very honest with you,” I said. “When I have a client who is not incarcerated, my inclination is to drag it out. It’s the client’s freedom that is on the line-why not get the most of it before the hammer comes down.”
    “You’re talking about a guilty client,” Roulet said.
    “On the other hand,” I said, “if the state’s case is weak, then delaying things only gives them time to strengthen their hand. You see, time is our only leverage at this point. If we refuse to waive our right to a speedy trial, it puts a lot of pressure on the prosecutor.”
    “I didn’t do what they are saying I did,” Roulet said. “I don’t want to waste any time. I want this shit behind me.”
    “If we refuse to waive, then theoretically they must put you on trial within sixty days of arraignment. The reality is that it gets pushed back when they move to a preliminary hearing. In a prelim a judge hears the evidence and decides if there is enough there to warrant a trial. It’s a rubber-stamp process. The judge will hold you over for trial, you will be arraigned again and the clock is reset to sixty days.”
    “I can’t believe this,” Roulet said. “This is going to last forever.”
    “We could always waive the prelim, too. It would really force their hand. The case has been reassigned to a young prosecutor. He’s pretty new to felonies. It may be the way to go.”
    “Wait a minute,” Dobbs said. “Isn’t a preliminary hearing useful in terms of seeing what the state’s evidence is?”
    “Not really,” I said. “Not anymore. The legislature tried to streamline things a while back and