I stood next to Olivia’s father with my hands neatly folded in front of me. I was sweating buckets. I glanced around the court room. My parents were watching me; my mom looked worried and my dad had a stony expression. Olivia smiled at me sweetly.
Thomas mouthed “You got this.”
I glanced toward Officer Locke who was standing between two lawyers and conferring between them.
Finally I looked to Olivia’s father, who clapped me on the back. “No matter what, we can always try again if we don’t get the results we’re looking for.” He whispered.
“All rise for the honorable judge Magnum.”
I straightened up and turned my attention to where the judge sat. Within minutes, a man in a black robe crossed to the seat. He stood for a moment before we were instructed to all sit.
I felt like I could hardly breathe. This was it.
The judge drew in a deep breath. “This has been a strange case. This is not something that happens every day. The criminal justice system is designed to combat criminals. It was created to restore order and enforce laws. These laws are meant to protect the citizens of this country. However, I firmly believe that this happens to be one of the cases where the law has failed to protect the people it was meant to protect. In this case, an officer of the law has perverted justice in order to suit his own selfish needs.”
I swallowed thickly. I was suddenly convinced I was dreaming.
“Mr. Hanson, based on the testimony from your friends, and your very loving family. As well as the letters of recommendation, and the proof of your grades… I find it very, very difficult to believe that you are the hardened criminal that Officer Locke and his defense team are trying to make you out to be. I find it hard to believe that you are the professional drug dealer that you have been made out to be. I have overlooked your past legal history, and I believe that your friends and family are correctly stating that you were simply confused in the past. You got into some things you shouldn’t have and made some mistakes. Many of us make mistakes in our lives, but those mistakes do not mean anything unless we learn from them. And I believe that you have. Your grades have proved that. You have gone above and beyond the terms of your probation, and your drug tests have all been negative. Even your probation officer considders you his best ward, and speaks very highly of you. These are further signs of you turning your life around. And for that, I would like to sincerely commend you, Mr. Hanson.”
He paused briefly, turning the page of his notes.
“Officer Locke; at this point I would like to address you. You are a police officer. Your duty is to serve and protect the people of this great city. From what I can tell, you have failed to do your duty. You have spent much of your time chasing after something that never really existed instead of working toward eliminating the larger scale drug dealers in this city. You have wasted a great deal of time and public resources chasing after a poor kid who has simply made a mistake. You are an embarrassment to the legal field. For that, you have failed your position. You have failed your city, and you have failed your fellow law enforcers. You exorcised poor judgment in this case. And for that, I am going to issue a three month suspension. At which point you will be assessed by your peers to see if you are ready to return to the line of duty. I am also fining you twenty-five hundred dollars. At the end of this hearing, I will ask you to report to your supervisor to turn in your badge and your side arm.”
I glanced at officer Locke, who’s face was red. He looked like a cartoon with steam coming from his ears.
I gaped at the judge. I’d never expected this.
Judge Magnum paused, and turned back to me. “Mr. Hanson. On behalf of the judicial system, and the legal system, I would like to sincerely apologize to you. You were severely penalized, and singled out based on prejudice and an over abundance of this officer’s power-trip. As a sign of my apologies, I am going to over rule the previous judge’s decision. At this time, I am going to end your probation. I am also going to count your current jail time as time served and I will be expunging your criminal record. As far as your future is concerned, this never happened. Your future colleges and employers will not be able to see this legal hiccup. Unfortunately, I cannot override the previous court’s ruling to take away your driver’s license. You will still have to try for your license again in another year. At this point, I would also like to congratulate you on all of the hard work you have done. And I will encourage and advise you to refrain from the activities that got you into trouble in the first place. And I will encourage and advise you to keep up the hard work. You have a bright future ahead of you. Please try to look past this and move on.”
I nodded quickly.
Judge Magnum straightened up. “Thank you all for being here today, and thank you for helping clear up this great perversion of justice.”
He stood from his chair, and I scrambled to my feet next to Olivia’s father. I couldn’t wrap my head around what had happened. I had to be dreaming.
When Judge Magnum was out of the room, Olivia threw her arms around me. “You did it!”
I hugged her loosely, not sure if this was entirely real. The smell of her sweet perfume drew me to the reality that this was real. Olivia’s father had done what he set out to do, and I was now free of my past.
The judge said a few more things, but I could hardly pay attention to what was being said. Judge James was grinning proudly.
We were instructed to stand while the judge vacated the room. I scrambled to my feet and stood numbly.
As soon as the door shut behind the judge. “Isaac!” Olivia cheered, throwing her arms around my neck. “That’s amazing!” She smiled hugely.
I wrapped my arms around her lightly, hardly able to focus. The sweet scent of her perfume reminded me that this was all real and I wasn’t dreaming.
Olivia released me, and Thomas clapped me on the shoulder. “How awesome is this! We should go out and celebrate!”
Olivia’s father grinned. “I told you we could do it.” He beamed.
“Thank you.” I said, extending my hand. “Thank you. You have no idea. Thank you so much.”
“I’m glad I could help.” He nodded, shaking my hand. “And you mean a lot to Olivia, so it was important for me to help.”
I moved my arm around Olivia and pulled her closer, lightly kissing her temple.
Olivia smiled hugely.
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