Acting In Concert
by John Davis Collins @1997 All Rights Reserved By John F. Clennan, Esq.
"I donno, Judge," Ron Baker nervously shuffled before the bench causing
the creases in his once worn blue suit to creak, "We wasn't on our way to any
rock jam ."
Laughter reigned in the courtroom.
In consternation tall blond haired Baker leaned over to me. His blue
eyes were vacant with confusion.
The Judge's eyes flashed with anger to quell the laughter rippling
through the courtroom.
Acting in concert may have been one of those legal terms that causes the
uninitiated to cringe, but this was the second time this morning the newly
appointed Judge had been upstaged by a defendant trying to plead guilty.
Only seconds before my other client, defendant Hal Anderson had corrected
the Judge on the proper way to take a plea.
"You seem unusually learned in our processes. Maybe I should order a
probation report ?" Judge Dexter gravely intoned.
"It'd say," the small squat Anderson replied casually. "The Anderson
Family is well known to the court for petty misconduct, but has never
seriously broken the law." In response to the Judge's critically raised
eyebrows,"That's what it said in some of my brothers' probation reports."
Every little law firm has a family which belongs to it, as the Andersons
belonged to me. And they had faithfully brought me Baker in a most unusual
case. The Andersons were experts on invariably getting caught and pleading
guilty.
When I accepted the cases, I had told the clients, "Only the Andersons
would have a drunk driving case with two people driving the car. Just plead
guilty and say you're sorry. You'll slip through in the shuffling. You know
how to do that Hal."
Unfortunately, after Hal Anderson's glib performance, the Judge chose to
examine Ron Baker more closely.
After the laughter died down, the Judge continued, "Acting in concert
doesn't mean you were in a rock and roll band. What I'm trying to find out
is how two people conspired to drunk drive."
"Conspiracy, Judge," Baker stared back in horror. "We just wanted to get
beer, not overthrow the government."
Unbriddled laughter controlled the courtroom. Baker nervously looked
back at the audience. A few people left the room unable to restrain
themselves.
Acting in concert like other legal terms expresses a simple concept in a
round about and high flown way.
Gritting his teeth as the laughter died, the Judge continued, "You and
some one else were accomplices ?"
"Oh no Judge, we wasn't planning no hit... Nothing like that we'd've paid
for the beer."
The courtroom recoiled in levity. Did 'acting in concert' weave playful
litts into a giddy tune ?
Banging his gavel ineffectually to stifle the uproar, the Judge said
emphatically, "Reading from the charge it says 'Ron Baker and Hal Anderson
did 'acting in concert' wrongfully drink and drive... Hey wait a minute..."
The Judge looked at the charge. "Anderson, that guy just left. I'll get him
back here."
"Not likely Judge, he told me, if you took his plea, he was going to bolt
for the door, pay his fine and celebrate." Baker replied.
Grave Intonations