这位女法官是一位相对比较新的法官。她有公设辩护律师的背景，这对安德鲁来说是个加分项，但她还是三个小孩的母亲。”我的面前有一份控诉，指控你是一名逃犯，涉嫌绑架违反了亚利桑那州的法律。我见你身边有律师在场，所以我要和他说明一下我的意见。你今天有两个选择。一是放弃引渡，前往亚利桑那州接受指控。另一种选择是对引渡提出异议，并要求州政府申请州长逮捕令。”
“我的当事人选择放弃引渡，法官大人“，我说：” 他期待尽快处理这一指控。”
法官点了点头。”那保释就不是问题了。我想你会允许我们监禁霍普金斯先生，直到他被转移到亚利桑那州为止。”
“事实上，法官，我们希望保释生效，”我说。
检察官像子弹一样离开了座位。”绝对不行，法官大人！”
法官转向他。”弗洛里茨先生？您有什么要补充的吗？”
“法官大人，保释的两个主要考虑因素是社区安全和逃跑风险。被告是你能要求的最有可能逃跑的人——看看已经发生了什么。”
“据说发生了，”我插嘴说：“ 霍普金斯先生是韦克斯顿社区的重要成员。他担任了五年的镇议员。他几乎是一手创办了当前的老年中心，他是一个模范的父母和祖父母。这不是一个对社会构成威胁的人，法官大人。我敦促法院在匆忙作出任何草率的判决之前，考虑一下他是一个令人钦佩的公民。”
太晚了，我意识到我做错了什么。你永远、永远、永远不要暗示一个法官可能会草率地做出决定;这就像告诉一只狼，它有口臭，而它正在考虑撕掉你的颈动脉。法官冷冷地看着我。” 我相信我有足够的信息来做出合法的裁决……虽然可能很快，律师。我定了一百万美元的保释金，只能付现金"，她敲着她的木槌。“下一个案例?
法警在安德鲁还没来得及问我接下来会发生什么之前就把他拖出了法庭。老人爆发出一连串的慢动作，颇有微词，然后被另一名法警拖进了走廊。检察官从座位上站起来，朝我走来。”“埃里克，” 他说：““你确定你准备好卷入这样的事情了吗？”
他不是在质疑我的法律能力，而是在质疑我对压力的容忍度。虽然他已经戒酒20年了，我还是个新手。我给了他一个僵硬的笑容。”我已经把它控制住了“，我撒谎道。戒酒的人也擅长撒谎。
我把桌子让给一位公设辩护律师，他正在为下一次提审做准备。我不期待迪莉娅的失望，现在她知道安德鲁又得在监狱里待上一晚，那说明我已经失败了。无奈的，我转向我们坐着的地方，可是她不见了。
The judge is a woman relatively new to the bench. She comes from a public defender's background, which is a plus for Andrew, but she is also the mother of three small children. " I have before me a complaint alleging that you are a fugitive from justice with kidnapping contrary to the laws of Arizona. I see that you have an attorney with you, so I'll address my remarks to him. You have two options today. One is to waive extradition and go to Arizona to meet the charge. The other option is to contest extradition and require the State to seek a Governor's Warrant."
" My client chooses to waive extradition, Your Honor," I say. " He's looking forward to dealing with this charge quickly."
The judge nods. " Then bail won't be an issue. I assume you're going to allow us to incarcerate Mr. Hopkins until he can be transferred to Arizona."
" Actually, Judge, we'd like bail to be set," I say.
The prosecutor is out of his seat like a shot. " Absolutely not, Your Honor!"
The judge turns toward him. " Mr. Floritz? Is there something you'd like to add?"
" You Honor, the two primary considerations for bail are the safety of the community and risk of flight. The defendant is just about the biggest flight risk you could ask for-look at what already happened."
" Allegedly happened," I interject. " Mr. Hopkins is a valuable member of the Wexton community. He has served for five years as a town councilman. He's almost single-handedly responsible for the creation of the current senior center, and he has been nothing less than an exemplary parent and grandparent. This isn't a man who's a menace to society, Your Honor. I urge the Court to consider the admirable citizen he has been before rushing to any hasty judgment."
Too late, I realize what I've done wrong. You never, never, ever imply that a judge might be hasty in his or her decision-making; it is like pointing out to a wolf that it has bad breath while it is considering ripping out your carotid. The judge looks coolly at me. "I believe that I have more than adequate information to make a legitimate ruling here . . . swift though it may be, Counselor. I'm setting a one-million-dollar cash-only bail." She bangs her gavel. "Next case?
The bailiffs haul Andrew out of the courtroom before he even has a chance to ask me what happens next. The seniors erupt in a slow-motion flurry of activity, crying foul and then being shuffled by another bailiff into the hallway. The prosecutor gets up from his seat and walks toward me. "Eric," he says, "you sure you're ready to get involved in something like this?"
He isn't questioning my legal abilities but my tolerance for stress. Although he's been dry for twenty years, I'm a neophyte. I give him a tight smile. " I've got it under control," I lie. Recovering alcoholics are good at that, too.
I relinquish my table to a public defender who is getting ready for the next arraignment. I'm not looking forward to Delia's disappointment, now that she knows Andrew will have to stay overnight in jail again, that I have already failed. Resigned, I turn to the spot where we were sitting, but she disappeared.
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