The "Seat"

 

 The Calista County Courthouse...The ''Seat" This is where everything happens in Calista County.. Legislation is written and drafted by Legislators,  Court Cases are tried, people's lives and fates are decided here...Fines are paid here...and the movers and shakers all either have an office here or come through here..

Calista's fair haired boy, State Senator Ralph Fuller has an office here...

and today he faces a civil suit for sexual harrassment..

It started out as a quiet suite that had now wound up becoming the major news story in the Philadelphia

area., much to his chagrin...He waded through the press, not answering a question or saying a word..

He was flanked by his attorneys

Richard Steele

And Joseph Bean.

"He went and got Killers, Richard Steele and Joseph Bean out of Philadelphia..We aren't the only Philadelphia lawyers here today.. Richard Steele, I only know by reputation..but Joe Bean I know.. We had a tumultous battle in court years ago when I was just starting out...The Jury deadlocked and he dropped charges..It was a big deal to me.. Being a young attorney and going toe to toe with a legend like Joe Bean..He was nice to me too..Took me out for a drink, gave me some pointers... I never saw him again." remembered Ms. Yvette.

"You won't believe this, but Joe Bean taught all four of us at PENN LAW!" I said.

''Get Out of here! You guys know Joe Bean?" asked Ms. Yvette , Incredulously..

''Sure do..He was one of my favorite instructors...Not bad to look at either for an older white guy." laughed Bee Bee.

''Yes, we loved his Criminal Law classes...Kind of like How to get Away with Murder 101..."laughed Sofia.

"He was a real cool guy...I liked him...Are we going up against him today?" asked Kahlil.

"You'll get your answer soon...He's spotted us...He's coming this way.."said Ms. Yvette.

"Well I'll be...Yvette Jones...Excuse me, it's Mrs. Yvette Lockwood now...Congratulations on your recent marriage...and your success at MCLUSKEY/COZEN/CONNOR & PRATT , you're a Senior Associate now huh?  One step away from partner..Good for you..." said Attorney Joseph Bean.

"You've been keeping up with me over the years I see..."said Ms. Yvette, who didn't believe that for a minute...She figured Ralph Fuller hired a P.I. to get a run down on her and her associates.

"I'd like to say I have, but the truth is my client hired a P.I. to get a run down on you guys before trial...and I saw the files and remembered you as well as your associates here, who used to be my students, when I was teaching law at PENN for awhile...Hello Bee Bee...married Keith huh? He used to follow you around like a puppy in law school..I wondered if he'd ever get the nerve to says something to you."

''Hello Mr.Bean..He waited until after graduation, after we passed the bar...but he got around to it.."laughed Bee Bee. 'We've been married nearly a year now." she gushed..

''Hello Mr. Bean." I said, smiling.

"Hello Sofia, Kahlil...I'm not surprised you two are married and frankly, I'm not surprised you four are all working at the same firm, you guys were always together...You were like a cult almost." said Joe Bean ,laughing..

"Hello Mr. Bean." said Sofia.

"Hello Mr. Bean." said Kahlil,laughing at the Cult remark.

''So I suppose we will be facing you today in court huh?" said Yvette, who found Joseph Bean's honesty refreshing and didn't relish going up against him..He was such a decent guy and this case was going to get down and dirty.

"You guys aren't that lucky...No I'm Mr. Fuller's personal attorney... You'll be going up against Rick Steele in this trial..I'm here as an observer.." said Joe Bean.

Ms. Yvette was actually relieved....

''Well, good luck in there...Nice  seeing you guys again, Beatrice, Keith, Sofia and Kahlil.."  said Joseph Bean.

"Goodbye Mr. Bean.."said Bee Bee.

"Good Bye Mr. Bean." I said.

"Good Bye Mr. Bean..Nice seeing you again.."said Sofia.

"Good Bye Mr. Bean." said Kahlil..

Yvette looked at her watch..."Jade should be here with the girls any minute..I hope they didn't encounter any trouble." she said..

Senator Fuller was staring at Ms. Yvette from afar...

"Myyyy goodness look at the hooters on her..Ouuuu I can almost see her bra...I think it's pink..." he said,salivating over her.

"And her two assistant attorneys aren't bad either...ouuu look at this one...Ummmmmmmm"he said

ogling Bee Bee's cleavage  and her entire body...

Sofia was driving him crazy in every way...

"Aye Yi Yiiiiiiiii..This little Puerto Rican girl has got a body on her...Ouuuuuuuuuu." he thought..

"Ralph...Snap out of whatever trance you're in...The Judge is here..Let's go inside."said his attorney Rick Steele.

They walked inside the courtroom.. 

They missed seing Jade walk in with both defendents..

Chloe Baker and Betty Bumstead...One he expected and one he clearly did not expect...

"I can't wait to see the look on Fuller's face when he sees Betty." said Kahlil.

"Me neither." I said.

II-

It was a nice little courtroon, not as nice and modern as Big Fed and not as big as our city courtroom...

The Judge's name was Abe Attles... We didn't know him, he didn't know us.. He walked in and smiled at

Senator Ralph Fuller..

"Ralphie Boyyy, how ya doin ?" he said.

''Hey Abey" said Ralph Fuller.

The Judge never looked our way... Yvette had a feeling of dread.. Small Town, Defendent is well known and well liked by everybody... He knows the Judge personally... She looked at us.

Me and Bee Bee.. Like her, African-American.. Sofia, Latina, Kahlil, an Arab and Jade, an Asian...All people of color in this lily white town and worse...Big City lawyers out of Philadelphia..We had several strikes against us..It wasn't like Philadelphia where we knew the players personally, the ADA's, the Judges ...Here , we didn't know the Judge and he didn't look like he cared to know us..We didn't know oposing counsel..Richard Steele.

Only that like us.. He too was from Philadelphia..Only ,this wouldn't hurt him as much as it was going to hurt us.

Voir Dire began...Voir dire definition is - a preliminary examination to determine the competency of a witness or juror.

In American jurisprudence, voir dire is an important part of the jury selection process. During voir dire, prospective jurors are asked a series of questions to determine whether or not they are fit to serve on the jury.

Kahlil and I had gone through the perspective jury pool and we had to try to find as close of the kind of juror we wanted.. A young woman, a career minded woman..a young educated man, not a neandrathal..

Attorney Steele struck down every female juror..regardless. Two days passed by and we had two jurors, two young men who attended the local community college.

Bee Bee and Sofia challenged him, accusing him of Bias against women...

He laughed their charges off stating there was no basis for this charge..

The Judge was inclined to agree...

Sofia and Bee Bee came at him from a different angle...They quoted  predicates, laws and Supreme court cases to back up their points..

The Judge was impressed with their astuteness...

Jade smiled at them..

Ms. Yvette beamed like a proud mother...

"My Girls are becoming fine young women, fine young attorneys.." she thought to herself..

Kahlil and I battled with a frustrated, but brilliant Attorney Richard Steele to a standstill...Of the next ten jurors..We got five women and he got five men....and the two young men who we had already agreed upon were liked by us both.

This was the best we were going to do..

''Alright..We have a Jury...We've already taken two days more than we should have.. Be ready for trial tomorrow morning..Nine A.M." He said.

"Nine Am...Wow... Okay guys..Let's go home and get a change of clothes and come back here tonight..

We'll find a hotel in town first.." said Ms. Yvette.

"We all came in on the train.." I said..

"We are going home, get some dinner and packing our overnight bags and driving back in.."said Bee Bee.

"Yeah..." said Sofia.

"If we want to have breakfast..We'd better be here." said Kahlil.

"I came on the train too.. I'm going to rent an SUV...We can all come back together.." said Ms. Yvette.

"I'm taking the girls back with me...We'll meet tonight." said Jade..

who boarded Chloe and Betty into her SUV..

and pulled off..

and we were on the train and out of there..

That night, Gary rented a Nissan Pathfinder, much like Ms. Jade's..

He called out for the next two days.. and drove us back to Calisto County...

We found a nice hotel..and were able to rent five rooms ,all on the same floor.

Gary and Ms. Yvette were right next door to me and Bee Bee

We were right next door to Sofia and Kahlil.

Jade was in the room next to them..

And Chloe and Betty were in the room next to her..

We were pretty tired after the day we had.. We turned in at around 9:30 pm...Trial began tomorrow.

III-

The Hotel had a catered hot breakfast of Pancakes, Hash Browns, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage and hot coffee.

That suited us just fine...We were all showered and dressed by 7:30 AM the next morning and in the Hotel's dining room having breakfast...

8:45 AM sharp we were at the county seat and prepared for trial...

Ironically both the Judge and the defendent

State Senator Ralph Fuller were late...

Both Attorneys were a bit pissed at having to wait... They,like us, were on time..

A Civil trial, unlike a Criminal Trial is different...There is no days of the Prosecution presenting their side and then the defense presenting their side..It's both sides presenting equally...

Ms. Yvette began refferring to the county's beloved State Senator Ralph Fuller as a serial predator who had taken advantage of the most vulnerable women possible. She said he preyed upon young, shapely attractive girls, usually poor girls  with problems, High school drop outs, bad family lives...Who he helps with their schooling and employment, and their bills and then helps himself to their bodies against their wills..until he becomes an outright "sexual terrorist" threatening their jobs if they didn't comply to his sexual desires...

Richard Steele , a very skilled Attorney spun the story a different way...He portrayed both Chloe Baker and Elizabeth Bumstead as two opportunists who were both in consensual sexual relationships with Senator Fuller as "gratitude " for him helping them both get their G.E.D. and then a college education.

He had receipts ,showing Senator Fuller had paid for them both to take the G.E.D. exam and their tuitions to the local Community College and photos of him at their graduations..

"Doesn't look like a predatory relationship to me." he snarled..

He also said that Chole Baker was let go because she was a "bad employee" "She couldn't type that well and she was constantly late and she used her sexuality to keep herself employed as long as she did.."He said.

Kahlil showed copies of her performance reviews to the jury..

"If she was sooo bad as you say...Then why did he give her "OUTSTANDING" and EXEMPLARY" reveiws all seven years she worked for him?" he asked..

Bee Bee had copies of letters Chloe had typed.. They were exemplary and she had her typing test scores..  She could type 120 words a minute.. She showed that to the jury...

"If she was late, it was because she was hesitant to come to work and be sexually assaulted..

Sofia and I brought Chole to the stand...Also something that differedfrom a criminal trial..In a criminal trial we almost never put our client on the stand..In a civil matter such as this ,it was almost essential

"Ralph Fuller and my dad grew up together...My dad kept bullies from beating Ralph up..Ralph was a thin, sickly guy in elementary school and that puny little non-athletic guy who couldn't make it with the ladies in high school... After High school , they both worked in the factories out sode of town for awhile..Ralph got student loans and went to college... East Stroudsburg University..where he graduated with honors...He went to Middleton Law School and got his JD. He worked as an Assistant District Attorney and later became Calista County District Attorney...After that he ran for and won State's Attorney and eventually became a State Senator..

.My Mom died when I was 16 and I uh kind of lost my way...I dropped out of High School and I got pregnant...Ralph had it taken care of and he helped me get my GED...He employed me while I attended Community College and got my Associates Degree.. He was there when my dad died..He helped pay his funeral expenses... He was so cool...Then it started.. The compliments...The compliments that got a little creepy..He was like an uncle to me..and now he was talking to me like I was some girl he was picking up in a bar or something.. At work..He was always touching me, hugging me a little too long..'Accidentally caressing my boobs..;and then trying to kiss me in the mouth... He was running his hands along my legs and up my skirt at meetings... It just escalated..He started buying me panties and bras and asking me if I had them on and if he could see them...At first I resisted...Then my rent went up..my utility bills doubled..and I had a car note... He'd have me in his office..Sitting on his lap...Then the kissing.

and finally outright rape..

He'd have me bent over his office desk and he'd be going to town...Sweating, panting, with the door locked and orders that he not be disturbed. Everybody in the office knew what was going on in there.

He demanded that we go to a hotel once and we did..Stayed the entire weekend.. I felt so dirty, so much like a slut that I couldn't take it anymore.. I simply stopped sleeping with him..I stopped being alone with him in his office and I told him..It was over...No more.. A week after I said that, I was fired.. I found my office locked..I was no longer allowed in the "Free parking space " across the street and all of my things were boxed up and I was escorted off the premises.. They took my pass keys, everything.." said Chloe. "I am not the first and I'm not the last...The young girl he's got working for him now is going through the same thing.." Chloe said and she was talking about Betty Bumstead..

On Cross examination... Attorney Steele brutally went into her sexual history...Stating that she had gotten pregnant at 16...and that she had had sexual relations with other boys before she met Senator Fuller.

Ms. Yvette, Bee Bee and Sofia objected vigourously...So Vigorous and Vehemently that the Judge 

Was forced to tell Mr. Steele to cool it..

What he had done was helped us.. Steele came off as a bully and Chloe, who was a local girl was coming off as very sympathetic, especially to the five female jurors..

Senator Fuller was  sweating bullets.. He had never believed Betty had fled to New York..but he hadn't thought she had gone to Philly and to us.. 

He had frantically called her , even the night before.

"BETTY, I'M SORRY...I HOPE YOU CAN FIND IT IN YOUR HEART TO FORGIVE ME"

"BETTY, LET'S GET MARRIED...I LOVE YOU!" was the second text..

Ms. Yvette and Bee Bee showed the jury..His ferverent texts to Ms. Bumstead, after she had quit...

Including the photos of the flowers and panties he had brought her the dasy after to get her to come back..

"Pretty inappropriate for your male employer to be buying you underwear....Don't you think?" They said.

This brought guffaws of laughter from the jury

Elizabeth "Betty" Bumstead was next up to testify...

''I was a waitress at a restaurant, he and his friends used to eat at...They were all nasty and disrespectful dogs, always trying to cop a feel, squeezing my boobs and making jokes about my breast size...Senator Fuller was the worst...but he was different.. He'd talk to me ,ask about my schooling...My home life.. My Dad is in prison..serving life for murder..He put him there when he was an Assistant District Attorney.. My Mom is in rehab.. I dropped out of school in the 10th grade..To make ends meet..I waitressed...He paid for me to get my G.E.D. and he put me through Community College.. I graduated with an associates degree..I was hoping to get my Bachelors one day.. He got me a job with him, in his office.,..I thought wow..He's alright...and then he started hitting on me..I felt as though I owed him..So I slept with him one time..

It was okay...I guess..but I was not physically or emotionally attracted to him...Never...

In hindsight...I should have never of done that...He wanted to do it more and more and I always made an excuse as to why I couldn't go out with him or spend the night with him...but he just wouldn't give up.. He had me doing everything from being an Administrative Assistant to doing Private Investigating work, spying on different people.. Then things got crazy with him again..

It started with questions about my bra size and my dress size...Then he started buying me sexy panties and bras in just my size and him wanting to see me in them...It continued with him making me sit on his lap , while he ran his hands up my dress, rubbing my legs and pulling the waistband of my panties..Even ripping one pair off once and then it escalated to this...Him actually having sex with me in his office.. He was a tyrant..He forced himself on me..Yanking my dress up and yanking my panties down and taking me right there across his desk and on the floor..

The last time, he told me that if he wanted me and I tried to run, I was fired..That was the last straw."she said. Everybody in the office knew what was going on...I'd run out of there, My hair all in disarray, my blouse opened..Sometimes I'd be missing my bra..It was terrible." she added.

I displayed an array of bras and panties across the table..

"All purchased by Senator Fuller...I have his credit card records right here...Some ripped...And with his DNA in all of the ones that were worn..." I said.

Bee Bee and Sofia brought Dr. Goggins from an independent lab and Dr. Marcy Templeton from the Philadelphia Medical Examiners office to verify the facts...

Attorney Steele argued elequently that all this proved was that there was a consensual relationship, whether either of these women say there was or not..and that these charges were ludicrous...He asked the jury to rule in Senator Fuller's favor..

But every juror knew that Senator Fuller was law in that county...and that neither of these girls had any recourse....He was tight with the local utility commission...If he said so, your bill could be lowered or suddenly go up... He was tight with the heads of the renters association...and the Landlords of most of the apartment complexs and lofts..If he said so..Your rent might just rise..

Ms. Yvette brought this point home time and again... She said..Consensual or not..which it wasn't...Neither of these young women had a choice.. Submit or be out in the street, as Chloe Baker was..

''And don't be fooled by the gifts and the texts...If Betty Bumstead returned today...He'd have her bent over his desk and probably rip her bra and panties off as payback for putting him through this..It just would never end." said Ms. Yvette.

It was Thursday....We had finished this trial... We had to be in Philly on Tuesday for the start of the fourth Corruption Trial in Big Fed..We were cutting it close.

IV-

TWO HOURS LATER-

"You got this baby...Believe me..You had that jury eating out of your hands...Especially the women!"said Gary.

"There were only five female jurors..." sighed Yvette.

"Yeah I know..but  even the men knew the deal.." said Gary.

"I agree, especially when I laid all those panties and bras out on the table and we had Dr. Goggins and Dr. Templeton supplu DNA evidence." I said.

'You enjoyed that didn't you?" laughed Bee Bee.

"Well I didn't.. I felt my privacy was violated..Now Every guy in the county knows what some of my underwear looks like.. I saw them leering at me and smiling.  I'm not mad at you guys...You did what you had to do...I'm just saying."said Betty Bumstead.

"I know what she means...This is exactly why a lot of women don't say anything, they just go along with it..with guys like Senator Fuller."said Chloe Baker.

"I know girl, but somebody at some point has to stand up, somebody has to say no more of this You don't deserve that...You don't deserve to be treated like that, by anybody...I don't care how powerful and

influential he is." said Sofia.

'Jade once again...you did excellent investigative work."said Kahlil..

"That's why they pay me the big bucks."laughed Jade.

Attorney Joseph Bean watched us from afar...He was actually proud of us...His four former students...He even considered teaching again....

Attorney Richard Steele was pissed... Pissed that he hadn't been told there was a second accuser , one with more damning evidence..He wasn't prepared for her...

He stared at us.. He was impressed with how well prepared we were...He hadn't expected that....

"The Jury's back with a verdict." yelled someone.

We all crowded into the courtroom...

"Has the Jury come to a decision?" asked the Judge...

"WE HAVE YOUR HONOR" said the Jury Foreman, who was one of the females we had picked.

"WE ARE RULING IN FAVOR OF THE PLAINTIFFS, CHLOE BAKER AND ELIZABETH BUMSTEAD AND WE ARE AWARDING THEM 2.5 Million a piece!" she said.

"OH MY GODDDD!!!!!" said Betty

"OHHHHH THANK YOU GUYS!!! THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!" said Chloe Baker as the two women hugged each other and tears streamed down their faces..

"I told you you guys had this in the bag..I told you.." said Gary..

"Yes you did." said a smiling Ms. Yvette..

and she gave Gary the biggest wettest kiss imaginable..

"Looks like we can go home."said Jade.

''Yeah, it's Thursday....We have Friday, Saturday ,Sunday and Monday and then it's back to court.."said Bee Bee.

"Yeah, we cut this one close." I said.

"Realll Close." said Sofia.

''Let's get some food and some cold ones..Gotta be a Bar and grill around here!"said Kahlil..

"Uhhhh word to the wise...For what you want...wait until you're back in Philadelphia..If you know what I mean." said Attorney Joseph Bean.. "Damn good job in court...I'm proud of you guys, all of you."he added.

"You should have told me there was a second girl...I wasn't prepared..."said Attorney Richard Steele.

"I didn't know Betty was preparing to testify against me until I saw her in court." said Senator Fuller.

Ms. Yvette walked up to him...

"Senator Fuller, Can I have just a moment of your time?" she asked..

"I think you 've taken up enough of my time Mrs. Lockwood!~" said the Senator, livid that he had lost the sexual harrassment suit and wondering how he could possibly spin this in a way that favored him.

" I won't take up any more of your time today, I promise.. I have something for you.."said Ms. Yvette.

"This is a subpoena! You being an attorney, I know you know what this is..It's for you to appear in Federal Court in my city next week for the Habib corruption trial..See you in court Senator."

 said Ms. Yvette and she walked away..

Now he was beyond furious...As if he didn't have enough trouble!

(CONCLUSION NEXT)